I never really understood Hannah Arandt's term "the banality of evil" until Trump.
It's the way evil people like Trump infect so many people who weren't evil by nature before coming in contact with him. It creeps up on them in baby steps. First you stay silent when lies are told, then you essentially confirm them, then you repeat them and so on.
By the time it dawns on people that they are handmaidens to evil they are in so deep they can't get out, can't afford the loss of income or friends or media attention. They made a deal with the devil and lack the courage to go back, admit error, try to fix what they helped break.
Of course, they also face retaliation. That's why evil people must execute a few traitors now and then to keep the rest in line.
