I keep being reminded, pardon the Godwin, of this documentary I watched of Hitler's rise in Germany. They interviewed two survivors of the war, who said they would go to Hitler's rally, be completely smitten with his speech, and then, when they had returned home and were listening to the same speech on the radio, they realised it didn't make much of an impression on them, in fact they would wonder what they had really been so impressed with. There was just something about actually being there, and Hitler's energy and personality, that had fired them up.
I'm sure Trump's ability to draw people to him and convince people, despite all his lying, incompetence, and lack of consistency, will be studied for decades to come.