What Gave Us Trump?

What are the big factors that changed a decade of American political-watching and existence?

When Trump first “descended the escalator,” I doubt anyone thought he would win in that year — at the time of the escalator thing, I believe Jeb Bush was considered a potential favorite to be the Republican nominee — much less that, almost 10 years later, a former Manhattan real estate developer would consume all the political oxygen for basically a decade.

More ink has been spilled on Trump and his rise up through politics than probably any other topic of the last decade save maybe the Kardashians and opioid addiction, but let's try to summarize some of the key themes herein. How exactly did we get to Trump? What allowed him to rise?

His own media savvy

Personally, I wouldn’t call Trump very “savvy” at anything, although he was a good developer in the sense of keeping costs down and luxury up and keeping his name out there. If you lived in Manhattan during the 1980s and 1990s, you know he was a big force in the tabloids. I believe he was on the cover of The New York Post 48 times, and it might even be a higher number than that. Trump is very good at juicing himself, and he’s also very good at giving you something to pay attention to (“best sex I ever had”) when it’s…