RE: I wish I didn't think democracy was worth fighting for, either.

Come to think of it, the huge following he has amassed in such a short time is telling from a psychological perspective. People are desperate for a Savior. It's not unique to our country I guess. People struggle with lack of meaning, uncertainty, economic hardship, forever wars, the collective trauma that was Covid, or the more recent AI threat. Somehow, here, they managed to create the conditions for this guy to incarnate the Savior archetype. The Jesus fad would have died down had they not nailed him to the cross...
Fortunately, we are a small country and there's little risk even if the new Savior turns out to be Hitler rather than Jesus.