There wasn't any evidence, that's the problem.

It was all opinion. Trump said a lot of stuff before this election, but he said a lot of stuff before his first one too.

When people disagreed on what he might do, it was all guesses. There was no evidence to base anything on. Would his second term be restrained by people around him like in his first? That would be an evidence-based extrapolation. Would tariffs be all talk and little action, like in his first term? Extrapolating from evidence, they would be. But 2025 isn't 2017. Things would be different, but how? It's all guesses.

It's only hindsight that is 20/20.