It is sometimes stated (often in defense of President Trump, and often by Evangelist Christians) that a leader with bad character can still be a great leader.
Yes character might not matter that much, unless you were a real conservative, in which case you could think differently.
Conservatives used to think that good character (or at least the pretense of good character) was vital in a leader as the leader is an exemplar of behaviour, who others will imitate. Bad character and immorality ‘rub off’ on to others, especially onto followers.
Having a leader with overt bad character will lead to followers imitating that bad character and gaining bad character, and that will lead to the election of further leaders with bad character, which will lead to a nation with bad character. Eventually nearly everyone will lose their way, and the nation will decay and collapse.
No real conservative could support Trump through cold pragmatism, because the ends do not justify the means. They realise that the unintended consequences of apparent success, may well lead to disaster. Real conservatives aim to conserve what is good, not junk it.
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