This.
I think Trump is playing political con man. I do not believe he is a conservative, he has no history of ideological conservatism, etc, but I think you nailed it pretty well. For a lot of people, they just don't care. For many on the right, it is enough to hope he really is one of them because they are so disgusted with the status quo.
If Trump were just saying these things to make a point and help the country, attacking PC because it needs to be done, attacking the liberal media narrative because someone has to do it, etc, he'd probably have even more support from people like me. My problem with him is he wants to be President, and I don't trust that he is an actual conservative, nor do I think he has the temperament at this time to be CiC, and I don't think he could win a general in 2016 election anyway.
However if Trump had just gone through this political cycle doing the above, fighting for conservative ideas, etc, as a non candidate just doing something he believes in, he would have set himself up for more support in 2020 or 2024. He would have established an actual conservative track record and possess all the slings and arrows thrown at him to prove it.
I think that at the end of the day he is saying the things the real candidates can’t say. I love his war on PC. We need it. With his comments and national responses to them, he is clearing the way for folks like Cruz.
But we’ll see as time goes on.
He’s undergone a transformation not unlike that of Ronald Reagan, going from Left to Right.
There’s no question in my mind he’s in this for one reason: restore America. Does he have all his ducks lined up perfectly the way I’d like them? No, but he’s close enough and offers representation of a cultural shift that many like myself want.
I also think he’s the only one who will beat Hillary unless the Democratic Socialists prop up someone else.