Somewhere there's a demagoguery handbook.
In a political domain in which a large portion of the population is disenchanted, it's relative, possibly frighteningly, easy to preach a simple and easily digested and accepted message of salvation. It is almost always false. It is hugely appealing.
Trump has tapped that nerve, with the help of a number of others, the Mercers among them. I'd add Thiel to the list also.