From the article:
“Palin gave interviews - terrible, terrible interviews. She was in over her head. Her own paranoia took center stage. She became her critics' caricature, embracing a mix of willful ignorance and proud ressentiment.”
First, “ressentiment” isn't a word. But beyond that the author says he was originally attracted to Sarah Palin but then wised up after watching her “terrible interviews”, her “paranoia” and her “willful ignorance”.
He is saying he sees how people would be attracted to Palin but those who do just aren't smart enough to see through her act and realize how bad she is.
He then attacks Trump. He says he understands the appeal of populism but that Trump is not a real populist like the author. He then throws in some weird and incoherent rambling about Putinism and other topics.
a psychological state arising from suppressed feelings of envy and hatred that cannot be acted upon, frequently resulting in some form of self-abasement.
Your were expecting, maybe, coherence from that bunch?