I think Trump set an all time low in political discourse in US and the consequences will never be the same.
For all of the faults and incompetence of the recent Republican candidates, whether it was Romney, McCain or Bush, they were such classical politicians compared to Trump. Even Dubya had so much nuance and tact compared to the Donald. All half the country needed was a complete demagogue to promise them the world. These new voters don't care about logistics, they just care about promises. All you have to do now is yell as loudly and frequently about how you're going to bring back all the jobs, that the economy is going to be tremendous, everything will be great and huge, the illegals will be bant, the muslims will be bant, tax breaks for everyone, blah blah blah This is now the standard for a political candidate. If you dare bring any realism to the discourse you will now be viewed as part of the corrupt political establishment. I really didn't think Americans at large were this stupid, but it seems they were just chomping at the bit for someone to come and promise them everything they want to hear.