A while ago, but post Trump, I saw an explanation that somewhat explains how conservatives can support Trumps hateful rhetoric while still loving people in their lives that Trump hates and teaches others to hate.They are ardent Trumpers. They espouse all the MAGA positions, ie Harris is a communist who is the worst person ever born etc etc. I don't understand how they mentally detach themselves from Trumps hateful rhetoric while continuing to "love and support" the very people the pubs hate. And I can no longer make excuses for them. (They're good people who are just confused etc etc, you all know them because I'm sure you've all made the same excuses for people you care about.)
Every. Single. Time. I post something to Facebook, he responds regurgitating Trumps hateful rhetoric. If it were anybody else, they would be eviscerated! But because it's him, I hold back. I never respond to the stupid shit he posts on his Facebook. Ever! We only argue because he responds to my stuff. It's gotten to the point where I'm not comfortable going to his house anymore. When this election is over, how will we deal with this? I'm sure I'm not alone.
The position was that conservatives generally judge individual people rather than actions while liberals judge individual actions rather than people. No actions by the 'good person' can jolt them out of their status as 'good' and no action by the 'bad person' can jolt them out of their status as 'bad'.
Trump could continue to do the worst things, but he will continue to get a pass because his actions are not determinative, and the judgment was made long ago. One of the most common justifications that you'll hear from conservatives is "...but he's a good person" despite there being no apparent basis for that assessment particularly to a liberal who is often basing their assessment on the most immediate observable action.
I think there is some truth in this, but it is more accurate in the extremes. Liberals can often be the other side of the same coin. it is why you see some progressives say they would never vote for Biden based on Palestine where the alternative is Trump, because they judged Biden's Israel/Palestine actions to fail some progressive purity test.
The truth is somewhere in the middle of course. Sometimes good people do bad things and bad people do good things.