RE: Right, Left and Somewhere in the middle

I don't intend to convince you that you should like Trump. I do want to give you some background about why I and many others support him despite his shortcomings.

You mention trying to add your voice in the safest way. And I think this encapsulates the traditional conservative view. By nature, conservatives don't appreciate radical change just for the sake of change. A generic conservative would prefer changes to be orderly and based on some principles, preferably conservative. And we can generalize that conservatives don't like public conflict or scandal.

These tendencies have been effectively exploited by the left for decades. Republicans would propose changes and always faced the same criticisms: racist, sexist, homophobic, and only benefiting the rich. It didn't matter that these accusations were baseless. It was just difficult for Republicans to defend against these accusations because it's not easy proving a negative. Eventually, they would give up and either drop their proposal or change it to where it was useless. They always gave in to the left.

Conservative voters have long been frustrated at how ineffective Republicans have been because they shrink back from criticism. The main frustration is that they can't abandon Republicans because there are no alternative conservative options. And not voting only gives a win to the lefties.

This is where Trump stands out. Because of his popularity, he has had the political left working overtime to try to destroy him. But he fights back. He's not afraid to stand up for himself and for conservatives. What his supporters see is that there is finally a Republican who doesn't shrink back in the face of criticism. More importantly, he has a good track record, not perfect, of doing exactly what he says he'll do. It isn't that people support him 100% on his ideas and actions. It's more that he has a spine and is willing to say things most Republicans would have been embarrassed to say.

Trump is not a full conservative. When he first ran he wasn't sure if he'd run as a Republican. He has identified as a Democrat at different times, and supported Democrat causes. He's more of a populist. And he had been very cozy with the left through most of his life. Given his history, you can't claim he is racist. His actions show quite the opposite. But people don't know it because he is constantly accused of being racist and the news is very clever about showing things that support this view. He's not sexist. Many on his staff are women. And we have all benefitted from his tax cuts, not just the rich. Yet the left persists in accusing him of these things. But to his credit, he doesn't care. He stays on task.

In short, his popularity is the result of voters having had Republicans for decades who were too timid and afraid of criticism. Trump is showing conservatives that it's OK to have an opinion and to voice it. And by example, he shows conservatives that it's OK to fight back and call the opposition names. It's only in recent years that conservatives have come to feel like they don't just have to stand there and take abuse from the left.

In the UK, I see a similar sentiment that it's OK to have conservative views, to be patriotic, and to have limits to what will be endured. It's a bit riskier there as some views can land you in jail, still.

I guess I would broadly say that it isn't that there is a rise in conservatism in the UK. Rather, it's a realization that conservatives do not have to stay silent. The conservatives were already there. But now they have found their voice, discovering that they aren't alone. And they are realizing they can fight back like we are doing here in the USA.