The cult absolutely matters. The reason half of Congressional Republicans go along with this shit is they’re afraid of their violent supporters turning on them. And they know dementia Donny has a tendency to direct their ire at whoever disagrees with him.

Once that cult splinters, that threat diminishes. The die hard racists hate Vance because of his wife and children, everyone else hates him because he’s a spineless charisma vacuum. There’s only so much corporate media can do to manufacture clips that make someone look not ridiculous to even the intended audience.