I honestly think that what the MAGA base loves and respects about Trump is the open contempt he displays toward other people, toward government, toward science and culture and toward established civic institutions. The contumely that Trump directs toward all of these appeals to a vile, base, antisocial, anti-intellectual group mentality that is the unifying principle of the MAGA movement. Trump's followers are united by their collective hatred and by the sense of empowerment they get from indulging in hate for the sake of hate. The emotional reward for Trump's base is a powerful sense of belonging to an "in group" and this emotion is reinforced by the adrenaline rush that they get from mindless destruction. At the same time, the fact that they can experience these emotions communally reinforces their sense of being part of something greater than themselves. Have you ever seen a schoolyard fight in which most of the children surrounding the combatants are not trying to break it up but, instead, cheering them on with chants of "Fight! Fight! Fight!" That blood-lust, that thirst for hatred and violence, is a defining characteristic of Trump supporters. Or have you ever witnessed a crowd down on the street looking up at someone threatening to jump to his or her death from a high-rise? (I have, since I'm from New York.) Many in the crowd can be heard shouting "Jump! Jump!" That, too, is the mentality of Trump's supporters. The thing that motivates them is a bottomless cynicism and hatred for most of humanity - a contempt for society in which they see themselves and their immediate social group walled off from the rest of humankind whom they see as an evil that must be vanquished, dominated and destroyed. That is what Trump promises to do for them and that is why they worship him. Trump understands this better than anyone, and that is why he went out on the campaign trail promising to these hordes of social misfits, "I will be your retribution."