Hillary lost because she phoned in her campaign. She made the rounds with high-dollar donors and rarely pressed the flesh with the voters.
Trump, on the other hand, had a traveling road show. He was everywhere. Gladhanding, grinning, and goofing.
As much as I detest the man, he worked hard for his seat at the head of the table.
Did Russia interfere? Yes. This is well-documented.
Did some of Trump's campaign collude? Yes. At least two of them did. This, too, is documented.
Trump, Jr. tried to collude. He desperately wanted to collude. But he was too stupid to pull it off and bungled it.
Nevertheless, with or without Putin giving him a leg up, Trump was going to the White House. The man is a genius at marketing himself. It's pretty much his one and only talent