All of your points can be explained with this.
I’m in the NE. I hate this place. Well, I love the place - it’s beautiful (Well.. sorta. I mean, it’s about half a dump. Like a 1990’s Detroit) so I can explain it in a way that others can’t.
Donald Trump is a New Yorker.
New Yorkers and New Jerseyites are simply the worst.
I’m from New York myself. I’ve been aware of Trump for a long time. He did a lot of good for teh city.
Still, those things were concerning to many conservatives. Remember Trump saying, “It’s the Republican Party, not the Conservative Party”?
But his performance in office has put most of those to rest. But it does explain why some consrvatives were skeptical about him.