is it possible the debates will turn out to be the greatest illusion of history and trump will emerge as the front runner?
No. You are assuming there will be actual debates, and that if they do take place, they will change people's minds.
People will hear what they want to hear.
Trump has done everything in his power to alienate as much of the population as he can. With Bannon that will only get worse. You can't light a candle for the devil and another for Christ. You lose both. That is the path he has chosen.
Landslide is relative: if not many Repubs go out to vote then Dem turnout will win the day. If they grudgingly vote for Trump (a possibility, for sure) then it may be less of a shellacking.
Either way, the only way he can win is if more than 50% of the country does not turn out. Somehow, that is highly unlikely.
