If you are an actual conservative, there is no selfish reason to criticize Trump, even when you think Trump has made a mistake. His fans will hate you for it, and progressives and Never Trumpers will attack you, saying “you created Trump” by criticizing progressives in the past — unless you curry favor with them by falsely claiming Trump is the next Hitler, or a fascist, which Trump is not. The only “conservative” most Never Trumpers like is a fake conservative who has become a progressive in disguise, and masquerades as a conservative or Republican on TV. Many prominent conservatives figured this out, and did not criticize Trump for doing things they privately disapproved of. The net result of this disincentive for criticism by actual conservatives and pro-free-market people is that Trump didn’t get enough constructive criticism from them during his time in office, even though constructive criticism could have led to better administration policies and a better chance of him being reelected.

I am obviously not a progressive. I worked for a free-market think-tank for most of two decades, run a Foundation that bankrolled successful lawsuits against the Biden administration (such as over its racial preferences in COVID relief), and have given thousands of dollars to Republican candidates. I publicly criticized Biden’s policies for being extreme in 2020, while the media was falsely claiming Biden was a moderate centrist. I debunked this false claim in the newspapers.