Maybe we've just never given insulated billionaires a fair shake.

it's really a perfect storm of things:

1) the left had a good 8yr run of being "the spunky underdogs" during the george w bush presidency so they got their "resistance" starter kit during then.

2) obama comes in and then the status quo flip flops with the right being "the underdogs" or "the resistance" and then that got lefty people in a position of "Status quo" and at least socially/media-wise, the rise of "SJW"-style stuff helped feed the right's desire to be more of a "counterculture" and [IMHO] they did a better job of taking the ball and running with it [read: meme-ing with it. see: nazi frogs]

3) during the obama run we got gamergate, which was a nice test run for media spin / narrative control (to make sure tht facts dont get in the way of the mass/media being like "NUH UH, GAMERGATE IS A MOVEMENT THAT HATES WOMEN IN GAMING. DONT TRY TELLING ME STUFF LIKE YOU WERE ACTUALLY THERE IN THE THREAD WHERE THE TERM WAS BORN, I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT)

4) then you add in trump, an even more made-for-TV president than anyone we've seen b4 (and keep in mind we had an actor in the white house back in the 80s) -- so he says shit to effectively "troll" or "flame" the left, who probably missed some of the "righteousness" they had being the counterculture during the bush years...

5) all of this comes together with A) natural tendency to be counterculture B) ratcheted up and emboldened by the rise of "SJW" style stuff during the 8 years of the obama presidency [idiologically speaking] C) all of B) is even more "trumped up" by trump being a naturally polarizing figure who one way or another you're going to have an opinion about and then of course D) a few years b4 the perfect storm the media had a chance to see how spin/narrative control against a naturally-detestable lot [fat neckbeard loser gamers] works, they saw it work swimmingly, and then they just widened their TARGET demo from detestable gamers to detestable righties, and then it all comes together into a perfect fit of [OMFG THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION EVER CUZ IF WE DONT DO SOMETHING THEY'RE SERIOUSLY GOING TO ELECT A MADMAN]

and the best part? 6) after all that "WE" GOTTA DO SOMETHIGN BEFORE "THEY" ELECT A MADMAN crap, they turn around and start chanting "HE WILL NOT DIVIDE US" like they live in a realm chock full of mirrors and/or irony =D

just add water [read: social media] and you got a perfect shitstorm where even casual ppl you know are like "you at leasy gotta admit [SOMETHING] about trump [sucks]!" and enter 2017 aka current year +2 and "so it goes"

I had a negative perception of him well before he ran for president and he controlled that narrative so it can only be Trump

You may have. Personally, I didn't really think of him much it all. He seemed to me to be one of those "important" New Yorkers that didn't mean anything to me.

But I don't think the overall negative view of him came until some time during the campaign. You can look at the old videos. Interviews with Oprah and Stern, Jesse giving him kudos him at a Push breakfast, etc.

You may have. Personally, I didn't really think of him much it all. He seemed to me to be one of those "important" New Yorkers that didn't mean anything to me.

But I don't think the overall negative view of him came until some time during the campaign. You can look at the old videos. Interviews with Oprah and Stern, Jesse giving him kudos him at a Push breakfast, etc.

You may have. Personally, I didn't really think of him much it all. He seemed to me to be one of those "important" New Yorkers that didn't mean anything to me. .

Well he obviously became a more divisive figure when he ascended to leadership of the birther movement.

That important New Yorker assaulted this city's river coast with his gaudy sign that he constructed by means of a technicality even after receiving concessions from the city to build his tower and have a street named after him. Sales of units in his tower proved to be a scheme.

The guy has enough actions in this city alone for me to have made a judgment.

Damn, no offense but major TLDR

You really find his sign that disturbing? I find that kind of funny considering what the Sun-Times building looked like.