The respectable Republicans distanced themselves from Trump

But that shouldn't really matter, as both sides know it was all about posturing and publicity. Just like Trump is (hopefully?) going to be a much more reasonable president than his campaign antics would lead you to believe, so he can work with the respectable Republicans in a much better way than their campaign behaviour would you lead to believe.

  Twenty-three days ago [..]

And one year ago Trump suggested the plurality vote should determine the presidency, in which case he would have lost.

Neither he nor his supporters will agree to that now, nor will he acknowledge he was wrong. And there will be no consequences.

Most people only have eye for short term problems, don't have a good memory or good associative capabilities and don't think beyond the outcome they hope for.

Even if you are aware of longer term problems, consequences and have a good memory, you may still choose to pursue short term goals in your opinion-making, because those listening to you want you to address their immediate concerns. You don't need to worry about contradicting yourself or causing new problems: they won't notice.

So congratulations on remembering that an action/proposal/opinion of 23 days ago opposes one now. Did you also realize back then what the consequences in face of an adverse outcome would be? That would be an extreme ability of foresight. And unfortunately it doesn't make a lick of difference.