Rieder: Trump, reality TV overwhelm the campaign

Let's face it: Donald Trump has won.

Don't worry. There is little likelihood he is going to be taking up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. anytime soon. Unless WikiLeaks' Julian Assange and his Russian friends have a true bombshell tucked away in their pilfered documents, Hillary Clinton, unloved and relentless, seems likely to prevail on Election Day. Although in this exceedingly bizarre campaign, never say never.

No, Trump, the noted reality TV star, has triumphed because thanks to him an entire presidential campaign has become an extended and awful reality TV experience. Politics, with its quaint mores, its policies and position papers, its focus groups and ground games, has been overwhelmed by the crass, meretricious yet at times hypnotic world of reality TV. You think you want a blindfold but, as in the case of the proverbial train wreck, you can't avert your eyes.

This couldn't have been clearer than during Sunday night's melee, er, debate. Thanks to Trump, one of the first questions, as it had to be, was about the recently unearthed tape in which the mogul prattles on about women in a most demeaning way, mentioning that he can grab them by the genitalia whenever he wants to on account of he's such a big star. In a pre-emptive strike, the Trump forces had brought to the debate three women who claim to have been sexually mistreated by Clinton's husband. And when asked about his own horrendous comments on the tape, Trump quickly changed the subject to Bill Clinton. "What he’s done to women, there’s never been anyone in the history of politics in this nation who has been so abusive to women,” Trump said.

A long way indeed from the ins and outs of the Iran deal or how to fix Obamacare (although we did get there, kind of, eventually). Lincoln and Douglas could not be reached for comment.

Analysis: She called him a misogynist. He said she should go to jail.

But this is nothing new: The Trump effect has been visible and vivid since long before the general election debate season. During the crowded Republican primary, in which non-politician Trump systematically dispatched 16 foes, many of them quite experienced and considered formidable, Trump brought the low-rent reality TV MO to the fore with his penchant for saddling his hapless foes with demeaning nicknames. With devastating impact. They will forever be Low Energy Jeb, Little Marco, Lyin' Ted. Now, of course, we have Crooked Hillary. We've been listening to this for so long, it's hard to remember how unusual this is for a presidential campaign.   .

Rieder: A better night for debate moderators

And Trump has the gift for bringing others down to his level. Rubio did himself (irredeemable?) damage when he tried to respond in kind, raising the question of whether Trump's small hands suggested size problems elsewhere. This gave us the (tragically) unforgettable moment of a leading presidential candidate assuring the electorate about his penis size: "I guarantee you there's no problem." The nation in unison breathed a huge sigh of relief, no one reported. Meanwhile, Rubio emerged from his episode, you should excuse the expression, much diminished.

Speaking of Bush, it's perfectly fitting that this year the Bush with the biggest impact on the presidential campaign is not Jeb, once considered a campaign juggernaut and then easily crushed by The Donald, or former presidents George W. and George H. W. No, that honor goes to one Billy Bush, a longtime entertainment reporter who is related to the dynastic Bushes. It was Bush's privilege to co-star with Trump in that devastating tape in which the bumptious billionaire makes all of those gross comments about women, the revelation of which threw the Trump campaign into crisis. For his part, Bush has been suspended indefinitely as co-host of NBC's Today show.

'Today' suspends Billy Bush after Trump tape fallout

The tape emerged after Trump had spent the better part of a week feuding with former Miss Universe Alicia Machado over her weight gain and urged his Twitter followers to check out her role in a supposed "sex tape." I'm not sure, but I don't think that was ever in the playbook of Dwight D. Eisenhower.

No sooner had the Machado flap receded and the Billy Bush tape surfaced than we were treated to more excerpts from Trump's many appearances on Howard Stern's — Howard Stern!! — radio show years back. In them, Trump tells Stern it's fine to refer to Trump's daughter Ivanka as a "piece of ass"; says he'd  "have no problem" having a sexual relationship with a 24-year-old woman (Trump was married at the time); and that while 30 is a great age for women, 35 is "check-out time."

Trump to Stern in 2004: OK to call daughter Ivanka a 'piece of a--'

So, you might say, why focus on all of this sordid stuff? Why can't the media stick to high-minded coverage of foreign affairs and immigration policy and income inequality? If only. But the Trump revelations and the Trump behavior are often so abhorrent, so inconceivable for an American president, that ignoring them would be both unimaginable and the height of irresponsibility.

So congratulations, Mr. Trump. You've got us all down in the mire with you.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Rem Rieder on Twitter @remrieder