In 2015, the rumors of Trump running for President overwhelmed all forms of information distribution, including water coolers. On TV and radio, the Jeb and Hillary ads were running during and in between shows that were obsessed with Trump running for President. With newspapers, people were only interested in the stories about Trump. Full page ads by Jeb and Hillary were used for bird cage liners. All of this was happening before Trump even announced he was running. By then, money couldn’t beat him.
People seem to forget that Trump tested the waters in the 2012 cycle. He actually led some alleged polls in late 2011, specifically targeting presidential aspirant Ron Paul. So there was reason to anticipate a 2016 run, as well as to believe he wasn’t any more serious in 2016 cycle than in the 2012.