Agreed. I helped start a Tea Party chapter, we had hundreds of members..... but most were politically naïve, we were suckered into supporting a bunch of slick liars like those you list. Pat Toomey springs to mind! A Trump was what we lacked. He has the originalist mindset, but also the ability to get things done. You have to admit, for the most part, he was lousy at picking winners, too.
Yup. Way too trusting. That's a problem with honorable men. They have a tendency to think other people will act honorably as well. Hopefully he's learned his lesson. We can't do another 4 years of backstabbing underlings.