It's also one of the things I find annoying about the "the Left pushed these people into Trump's hands' narrative I find on reddit.

Sure, redditors (who already lean progressive on many issues) feel disappointed in the Left today and so would consider Trump for certain reasons. I don't see why those reasons would apply to the majority of the GOP base.

The GOP base though has been taught for a long time that "liberal" is a dirty word and progressives are coming for everything. They didn't need any more encouragement from the Left on this.

That's not a gap invented by whatever topical stories about BLM or college campuses. They've felt this way forever, the main difference is that they've also come to really loathe their representatives that can't seem to deliver on all the shit they promise. The main modification Trump brings in here is that he's not part of the system and has gained a sort of sheen of "authenticity", right or wrong. He's supposed to be the guy to break through bought politics, but the grievances aren't new.