>>People are deluding themselves.<<
People are reacting to his message, which they like. When you get right down to it, most of those who say they now support him probably don’t know his history, or didn’t know anything of it when they applauded his message.
Trump will fade as people get to know his past, but the other GOP candidates will benefit from seeing how strongly his message has resonated, and not just within the GOP base, either. Some of them will be able to adopt it for their own campaigns without demonstrating a conflict with their existing positions and demonstrated principles.
In that sense, Trump has done the GOP a huge favor.
I hope it hangs on through Christmas. I’m stocking up on little baby Donalds in a manger and beardeded Donalds in a sleigh.