you thought they were serious? i mean, maybe a few were serious, but the vast majority repeated it because it was a F'ing joke.
you can look at trump himself to answer your op. LOTS of people liked trump as a C list celeb. i thought it was funny when he would make a cameo in movies as the stereotypical scumbag creepy business guy. i dont watch wwe, but i still saw the highlights of him getting slammed on there. funny. lots of people loved the apprentice. but when he REALLY did run for pres, some of those same people thought "wait....wait....what?"
the same is true with rappers. we like their music. many people sing along even if they dont agree with whats being said. rap is about the beat and the rhythm for most people more so than lyrics like other genres. granted, there are some people out there who do try to live that life, and inspired by rap lyrics. most college kids are not among them.
i suspect you know this already. youre just trying to be argumentative with this thread.