“People” are not a single entity. Everyone is different. Many would cheer for him no matter what, whether they are diehard Rs or they have some kind of parasocial relationship or whatever. They don’t care what he says, only that he said it. Some would cheer because they like what he says, regardless of who said it. Some would disagree and become disillusioned. And some might even hate him now.

He still has a lot of supporters. I nearly cut my mom off recently, and I rarely talk to my dad. Both of them rampant supporters. Naturally, their support of this bullshit treatment towards innocent trans people (like the guy I’m married to) was enough. And they’ll defend it still, even disrespecting us in the process, or jumping through mental hoops to explain how he doesn’t actually hate trans people and isn’t attacking them on a near daily basis. I can’t explain why they do this, and honestly it’s not my job to change them as much as I’d love to (and I’ve tried). All I can assume is that my parents don’t respect who I married, and that’s enough for me. But my point is they’re still out there.