He did that because he needed the money. He was in a very precarious financial situation in the early 2000s and probably would have gone bankrupt without this gig.

They really don't. Words have meanings and the US is not the only country in the world. Other countries still have actual conservative parties. The GOP used to be a conservative party but really should not be called conservative any more. It is a right wing populist party with a shrinking centrist wing (that still has some old school conservatives in it) and a growing right wing extremist wing (which has actual fascists in it).