How Did Trump Get So Far?

The author of the meme here poses an excellent question.

I believe it will ultimately be shown that Putin had a great deal to do with this.  Russia benefits from a United States that is depleted morally, diplomatically, and economically.  An insane and autocratic leader who actively tried to overthrow the U.S. government is the biggest gift to Russia imaginable.

At the same time, the less controversial theories have weight as well, e.g., the devastated American educational system.  The whole concept of a Trump supporter, i.e., a voter who is incapable of seeing that the former is a pathological liar and conman, couldn’t have existed in any meaningful quantities until very recently.   Now we have people casting ballots who couldn’t find Ukraine on a map, or tell you what a virus is, or believe that the government controls the weather.