But the thing was.... Trump being President was super super super dodgy to anyone looking from the outside in.
It made no sense. Something had to have happened to make Trump win.
The way I see it, Trump won for two key reasons:
1. He convinced many that he'd fundamentally change US politics, and bring in new ideas to increase jobs, lift people out of poverty, and crack down on corruption. Essentially, he ran a pseudo-populist, pseudo-grassroots campaign.
2. His opponent was lacklustre and unlikable from the beginning.
Much of Trump's campaign was about how he'd do things differently than other politicians. He wasn't a part of the political establishment, never having any career in politics, and instead was a multi-billionaire international businessman. This combination made his seem new, honest, and likable. He would rail on about how corrupt Washington is, popularizing the phrase "drain the swamp" claiming he'd get the "stupid" and "corrupt" politicians outside of Washington, not just Democrats but Republicans too. He also emphasized how he wanted to run the US like he ran his businesses, and this had a positive connotation since he was perceived as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in US. He visited states that are traditionally ignored by politicians, like West Virginia, and made knowingly false promises to their citizens, as well as in other rust belt areas: that he'd bring back coal, steel, and other manufacturing jobs. His controversial, racist, and downright stupid statements, as well as his rape allegations had very little effect on his popularity. In essence, he was able to create a passionate, yet tractable following, since he genuinely convinced people that things would fundamentally change. He renewed hope in many voters that felt dissatisfied by Washington and the political process. As such, not just Republicans, but centrists and those who usually don't vote gave their vote to Trump.
His opponent, Hillary, was a bad choice for the Democrats from the beginning. She was seen as weak, dishonest, vague, and uninspiring; a figurehead of the political elite. Many had a hard time trusting her, due to her email scandal (and one such email claiming that she has both a "public" and "private" stance on key issues), being funded by Wall Street and other dark money, and for being a warmongerer in the past. Her policies were centrist and brought nothing new to the table. Unlike Trump, she failed to create a strong, vocal movement. Honestly, I don't even think its possible for a candidate running a centrist/moderate campaign to even have a such a devoted following. There were very little "real" Hillary supporters; many voted for her simply because she wasn't Trump, and because she's a Democrat, not because she was well-liked. And it didn't help that many who had supported Bernie did not vote for Hillary.
Fast forward over three years later, and Trump didn't live up to any of his mighty promises. Like most other Republican presidents, he's focused on cutting taxes on the rich and corporations, increasing military funding, rolling back regulations, and has done nothing to increase living conditions for the lower and middle class. There's nothing truly unique about him, simply from a policy standpoint. Coal, steel, and manufacturing jobs in the Rust Belt have not increased. He loves to tout the fact that unemployment has been the lowest in a long time, and the stock market is the highest ever, but none of this matters considering that the cost of living for lower and middle class people is only increasing, and if you're not wealthy and don't own stocks, like most, you wouldn't feel the benefits of a high-performing market. And he hasn't drained the swamp. In fact, the swamp has only grown deeper with Trump in office; his cabinet is mostly comprised of corporate lobbyists as well as his billionaire friends like Betsy Devos, and all of them are just shills. He's been ridden with scandals, and has more indictments than any president in history, even more than Nixon.
