Agreed. And that goes hand in hand with the atmosphere in which these types like to operate. They like to rule in conditions of upheaval and uncertainty. They go WAY out of their way to create such conditions for themselves, just like how Trump is going about his business of purposefully ramping up the fear, the hate, the threat of the outsider boogiemen that he's conjured up out of thin air.
Just like how Bush and Cheney and their band of neocon warmongers cashed in on the wars they started but couldn't finish.
This habit of folks to rally around their leaders, no matter how crooked and conniving these "leaders" are in times of turmoil, is something these types of "leaders" absolutely have to rely on to gain and stay in power. Historically verified facts support this.
They have to rely on ploys like these simply because these "leaders" aren't there for the benefit of the people they're supposedly "serving". They're in it for themselves and the folks who put these bastards up to it. These exploiters need to make sure that the folks who voted them into office remain dutifully ignorant of that fact and they will do anything, say anything, lie, distort, make false promises, anything to keep the faithful blind and obedient and most of all, dependent.
In the particular case of Trump, he's in it for himself, and if there's anyone else that benefits from his ascendancy, well, they're there because they're exactly like Trump in purpose and deed.
They're all in it for themselves and they're willing to do just about anything to enrich themselves to no end.
The suckers that voted these scum into office? Heh, in the eyes of those who got elected to represent their interests, these folks are worth less than dirt because they were foolish enough to buy into the scam these crooks used on them. From these crooks point of view, the folks that voted for them are worth even less than the folks who voted against these opportunists because they at least knew what these shysters were up to and are thus given the little respect they're due.