But this goes to the core of the Republicans, and their current populist bent.I bring this up because you brought up the spectre of "The intelligence community is insincere in their view that Hunter Biden's alleged laptop is a likely Russian plant; that is just a way for them to associate something that would hurt Biden with an explanation that would not.". If we are to doubt the intentions in an instance that hurt Republican interests, why should we trust the same in an instance that would hurt Democrat interests? I am talking about how they chose to publicly announce that they had a laptop related to Clinton; that's something they could've done to sabotage her electoral prospects primarily.
There has for a very long time been anti-government sentiment in the US right wing - suspicion of government itself, its agencies, corruption, overreach, etc. and this has grown and become more paranoid in recent years.
Hence the paradox in the populist further right, and not just the USA. Suspicion of government and institutions feeds populists who have contempt for the institutions of state, with their answer being that they should have ever-greater freedom from interference by and control over the institutions of the state. To these people, the messiah is coming to sweep away the "deep state" (or whatever) and can be invested with supreme power. The rest of us see the recipe for corruption, authoritarianism, and dismantling of democracy. Not least because it's literally already just happened (e.g. Hungary).
Inherent in here is often a degree of selectivity or hypocrisy in how events are interpreted. For instance, Obama used executive orders to "cheat" and circumvent Congress. Trump used them (at a rate 50% higher) because he was fighting the "deep state". If the intelligence services screw a Democrat, it means they're doing their job, and if they screw a Republican, it proves they are corrupt. Blah blah blah.