Top 5 Events Which Helped Bring Trump To Power

5. Bruce Jenner Becomes Caitlyn Jenner

Perhaps there could be no better symbolism to blue-collar Americans that the country had rapidly changed before they could even take note. On June 1, 2015, Bruce Jenner, a man who had in 1976 set a new world record for the decathlon while competing on behalf of the United States, appeared not on the front of a Wheaties box with his gold medal, as he had after his Olympics victory — but rather, on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine, in lingerie as a woman, with the caption “Call me Caitlyn.”

This appearance by Jenner marked a significant advance in trans rights. She used her fame to speak out about the way in which this class of Americans had been treated over the last several decades. However, to many, this represented a tearing at the fabric of America. Some resented the idea that she was named “woman of the year” by some publications and that she won an ESPY for her heroism. Nonetheless, her visibility gave rise to more issues, such as which bathroom trans people should use. Fittingly, exactly two weeks to the day the Vanity Fair magazine was released, Donald Trump announced his campaign, first invoking his oft-repeated promise to “Make America Great Again.”