The most obvious explanation is that this was what Trump promised to RFK in order to get him to drop out of the race and endorse him. Anyone voting for Trump should have known it would mean RFK in power.
I'm not too surprised but I can see how someone who gets most of their news from conservative or even main stream sources would be surprised at how far the Trump administration is going.
> It's also incredibly unpopular even among the right.
Where are you getting that impression? Sincerely curious, it seems to me most either don't offer an opinion or are in favor. Even in this comment section (or any other similar one on HN recently) you see people more or less saying this is a correct response to some covid conspiracy theory they're into. I would love for the right to turn on trump but I frankly haven't been seeing it, over this or any other issue.
