My memory is fuzzy, didn't they just make Mr Garrison the coolest he'd ever been before, at least from like the average white American guy's point of view? Were they ever actually being critical?

I assumed they were trying to play both sides since most trump fans wouldn't be able to tell it was satire, similar to Colbert's old show, and they could just say it's not their fault if their "message" was missed by most people that watched it.