Trump got into power because he was hailed as a genius business person who would transform the country like a good business person would transform a failing com

Trump got into power because he was hailed as a genius business person who would transform the country like a good business person would transform a failing company. People bought into it, because he's probably the most exposed businessman in America - through his brand name, and media appearances. Furthermore, he was "hard" on certain populist topics like immigration, as well as conservative on more mainstream topics, like taxes, foreign affairs, etc. And on the very top of that, the fringes of democratic voters didn't bond with Hilary Clinton getting ushered in as the presidential candidate. Even Trump didn't believe he'd win in 2016.