Comment by SoftTalker

Sounds like a reach. Many people just loved the stuff he was doing and didn't really know much about him as a person. When a more complete picture (specifically his politics) emerged, and people decided they really didn't like the person, they had to resolve their cognitive dissonance by finding reasons they were right then and right now, instead of admitting they projected the person they imagined onto the person they really didn't know. Tech enthusiasts just never imagined that a guy doing so many cool things could turn out to be a right-winger.