Fox and the right-wing media are not blameless, but I believe they are only one part of the weird phenomenon of celebrity worship that dominates our culture.  Trump is a very well-known celebrity, partly from his "success" as purported billionaire businessman, partly by his antics as a TV personality and big mouth, and partly as a participant in the 5-second fame of Twitterdom.  Our culture's celebrity worship can be seen every single day where "we" consume every tidbit both mainstream and social media offers -- the more salacious and dishonorable the better.  Which gets more coverage, the obituary of Elie Weisel or Prince?  Grave and real campaign political issues or old audio describing apparent sexual assault?  Nuclear disarmament or Charlie Sheen's "winning?" Each former concern is too hard to think about and each latter example is more palatable, easier, lighter.  I neither share nor understand the allure of celebrity, but I do think it had a LOT to do with this election.