Did Trump actually do better than Rubio or Bush or Cruz or Kasich would have done?

[Garrett78]

9. Sanity doesn't hold as much appeal with the GOP electorate as it does for you and me.

There's a reason most of the fake news (and we're talking about some truly crazy stuff) was pro-Trump/pro-Republican and anti-Clinton/anti-Democrat. Supply and demand.

80% of Trump's supporters are Birthers, which is insanity rooted in racism.

Again, Obama openly recognized that the GOP has been "feeding their base all kinds of crazy for years." As diplomatic as Obama typically is, I think that speaks volumes. Trump's stiffest competition came from Cruz, who's also crazy. As are most of the Republicans who campaigned for the nomination, quite frankly. Carson, Fiorina, Huckabee, Santorum, etc.

Someone in another thread actually referred to Kasich as a "moderate." That's downright scary. Kasich and Rubio may come across as relatively sane, but there's nothing moderate about them.

I don't think any other candidate would have inspired the Republican Party base as much as Trump did. His overt bigotry was key.