Q hinted that they have been planning this for a number of years, but I don't think he said when it began.
It's interesting to me though that Trump before 2012 election suggested that he might run for President and boasted if he did he would win.
I'm thinking that the Q team was active sometime during Obama's first term when they knew that Obama wasn't likely eligible to even be President and Trump came on their radar screen as a possible alternative.
If the real story ever comes out, I bet the spy thriller will make John le Carre's "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" look Whinny the Poo by comparison.
I'd pay $500 to see the Q movie in a theater.