The More People Digging in a Hole, the Faster It Gets Deeper

In his book Things That Bother Me (2018), the British philosopher Galen Strawson quotes observations made by Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) and by the Israeli-American psychologist and economist Daniel Khaneman (1934-2024) that cast light on why so many people who should know and act better have failed to denounce Trump and call for his impeachment and removal from office.

Bacon:
Once the human mind has favored certain views, it pulls everything else into agreement with and support for them. Should they be outweighed by more powerful countervailing considerations, it either fails to notice these, or scorns them, or makes fine distinctions in order to neutralize or reject them. . .thereby leaving untouched the authority of its previous position.

Khaneman:
We know that people can maintain an unshakeable faith in any proposition, however absurd, when they are sustained by a community of like-minded believers.