It's clear Trump doesn't mind molding his legacy into a hard core polarizing figure. Until recently, he was the snarky rich dude with messy hair who owned stuff and hosted the Apprentice. He had his detractors, but few people had a really strong opinion about him.
If I were him, I would've just stuck with being a billionaire real estate guy with a couple TV shows and avoided the political fighting, but that's just me.