As Wikileaks proved in 2016, Trump got as far as he did because the Clinton campaign actively forced the media to push him as the Republican contender. They just thought it would be easier to win against a fringe candidate like him.
@kaia That's perfectly plausible, given Trump's behaviour throughout the primary. I guess HRC didn't take into account how much Burgerlanders love entertainment.
Also, the whole charade had the side effect of disenfranchising true left-wingers (not SJW types, which, in my opinion, are fascists) and moderate conservatives, and thinning the Overton window.