It may be said that what seems simple is really not, and the reverse is also true. People who are psychologically damaged are not really simple and their need to control others (Trump) as well as follow a sociopath who offers meaningless promises (Trump followers) are very conflicted and therefore complicated. The psychological profile of a person is never simple. The mind becomes muddled and unable to detect a con artist even when being conned. Others learn by experience as well as history and the study of human nature. And we who do this are stupefied by those who fail to use the tools right in front of them. We are also frustrated that the few will drag the many through needless pain, suffering, and destruction.

While we are all conflicted due to our psychological conditioning since birth, some of us are able to see more clearly than others in certain respects, and some of us are less traumatized in a way that makes a malevolent dictator attractive to us.

We live in a society heavily influenced by science, and therefore we have been inculcated into the idea that there must be proof, facts, studies, and other things you mentioned. And such things must prevail as the right way to assess problems and figure them out to avoid catastrophe and pain. We also base our conclusions on such modes of scientific measurement and can come up with all sorts of ideas as to why anyone would support Trump. In the end, however, things do not work according to plan. What is obvious to some is hidden to others. And complexity dictates that there is far more to a human being's decision making than correct information. And here is the rub.