At the very least, it was certainly scripted, and from what we've heard recently, TFG was severely challenged just trying to deal with that. But you're right, this fiction no doubt had an effect on those viewers gullible to believe that this was "real life!" 
My first view of him was as a guest on with David Letterman. I almost changed the channel since this guest was an obvious jerk. He was going on to Dave about "the Mosque at Ground Zero" - how inappropriate it was after 9/11 and expressing hate. However Dave, who repeatedly claimed to know nothing about politics, explained that what was proposed was a community center and put this hateful guest in his place. Not to mention, this offensive guy was also selling neckties - and all Dave had to do was turn them over and announce that they were "Made in China." 
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