Judged by the dollars spent, gambling is now more popular in America than baseball, the movies, and Disneyland-combined.
Donald Trump became seen as a credible businessperson with a real track record, even though that was at odds with reality.
Donald Trump was seen for quite a long time as a punchline, the jokes about the excesses and the failures of the 1980s. And he had become, you know, a human shingle and a punchline.