He also exposed the basic idea that it's ok to be wrong. To lie. It really doesn't matter anymore. You can say the earth is flat and there will be a place for you in public life as long as the voters pick you. The media, what's left of it, will go along.
Years ago, I pointed out a historical coincidence.
In 1952 The GOP Nominee picked Richard Nixon as his running mate. He mainstreamed the concept of dirty politics and his legacy shaped Washington for decades.
28 years later, the GOP Nominee picked George HW Bush as his running mate. He himself was tame and didn't do much but without that I doubt his son Dubya becomes TX Governor and President. The affects of the Iraq War are still being felt 20 years later and it changed things for generations
28 years later the GOP Nominee picked Sarah Palin as his running mate. They didn't win and she didn't really do much after. But what she mainstreamed was the backlash against making fun of stupid people in office. She was an airhead. Ignorance became a badge of honor. If you corrected these people you were called elitist. The entire Trump presidency today and his cabinet are the ideological descendant of Sarah Palin. The people who don't read, who believe every conspiracy theory they come across on social media. Dumb became something valuable.