DJT came late to the party as a conservative. He was brilliant in his first term except in politics, for which I give him a "C-". Party-building and cementing the non-aligned vote were two pieces of low-hanging fruit he failed to pluck. 

In any sane world, Xiden would never have beaten DJT - so the world needed reappraising after the 2020 debacle. 

DJT could have backed off the polarizing rhetoric, but he chose instead to ratchet it up. I believe there is strong evidence that was a major mistake - 'Crat voting shenanigans to the side.