On Saturday night, all doubts about whether Donald Trump was a serious contender for the White House were erased.
That’s not to say he’s locked up the nomination.
But with last night’s decisive victory in South Carolina, Trump served notice that this is no longer a matter of whether he can make a serious run at the presidency, it’s now a matter of whether Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio can mount a serious challenge.
As was the case in New Hampshire, Trump came into last night’s primary as the runaway favorite. Still, the political punditry (not to mention the GOP establishment) was incredulous and seemed to think that the electorate would “come to its senses” at the last minute and cast their votes for Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio or at the very least for Ted Cruz who isn’t exactly popular with the GOP elite, but at least he’s not telling stories about executing Muslims with bullets dipped in pig’s blood.
(pig's blood comments begin at 33:00)
No dice. Trump “schlonged” the rest of the field and it’s looking more and more like the unthinkable will soon become reality.
Donald Trump - with his Mexican border wall, Muslim ban, and red, “Make America Great Again” baseball cap in tow - is about to secure the Republican nomination, in what amounts to the surest sign yet that public sentiment no longer bears any resemblance to establishment politics.
Against that backdrop, have a look at the following graphic which shows that while nearly three quarters of GOP voters couldn't see themselves supporting Trump for the nominaiton last March, the tables have completely turned with nearly the same number now saying they could indeed envision supporting the controversial billionaire.
And make no mistake, Trump didn't waste an opportunity to rub salt in the wounds of Megyn Kelly, Fox News, and the GOP establishment with this classic tweet:
"@mikeliberation: This is the best reaction shot I've ever seen lol #Trump2016" pic.twitter.com/jqxI7QoxEY
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 21, 2016
Finally, Trump retweeted the following from Matt Drudge:
OMG! Looks like the latest DRUDGE REPORT poll results! How can that be? ???? pic.twitter.com/PZ0CxiAh6O
— MATT DRUDGE (@DRUDGE) February 21, 2016
Get ready America. Your country is going to be "great again" in T-minus 9 months.