TambourineMan i dont think any of the "serious" people on the right think hes smart. like, if you asked john roberts or the head of the heritage foundation if they think trump is smart and they tell the truth, they will say no. they also know that trump doesnt actually care about like 80% of the priorities on the right. trump wanted to be president in 2016 to further enrich himself and grow the value of his businesses. it backfired, and he got himself in a ton of legal trouble. he wants to be president now because it means he can make his criminal cases go away.
the right saw that they didnt really have a chance to win "the battle of ideas" on core issues beyond immigration. 70% of the country favors abortion rights, for example. but they support trump because they know trump is just a circus act, but that he has more appeal broadly than someone like mitt romney. poor working class people see a guy like romney drone on about corporate taxes and they zone out and disengage. those same people view trump as like a joe exotic guy who is entertaining, and they go and vote. the heritage foundation could not care less who the republican president is, they want to further cement the dominance of the right in the federal court system and the dismantling of the administrative state. they know trump wont get in the way of that, he'll let them do whatever they want, he'll be focused more on his own petty grudges and legal issues and making all that go away.
