DON’T TREAD ON TRUMP: It’s Official, Repubs give Trump the nod

BY KATHY KAHN

Where are his tax returns? Do Americans really want him for the next President of the United States?  Can he “Make America Great Again?”

Whether Trump’s name is on a building, a golf course or on the cover of a magazine, the Boomer billionaire is a businessman, entrepreneur, spouse (a few times) a parent and grandparent (full time) —and a staunch Republican.

Trump immediately upset the “politics as usual” applecart during his first presidential debate at “Q” (Quicken Loan) Arena in Cleveland and spent the past 16 months since that first appearance is  changing the political landscape nationwide—perhaps forever.

Trump, who says he financed his entire primary but is now actively engaging benefactors as he goes into September, officially accepted the GOP’s nomination on July 19.

In recent weeks Trump has worked hard to turn rivals into resources. The bountiful smirking by media pundits who underestimated the “You’re Fired!” guy are now looking under rocks to find something to hit him with. (Case in point—his wife’s speech to the GOP convention).

His life-both public and private– is a matter of public record. Voracious fact-checkers are constantly on the lookout for a slip of the tongue —and yes, they have found many. As a native New Yorker, he’s been known to get in Dutch because he sometimes talks before he thinks—but for many, it’s refreshing and real.

His supporters appear to overlook his gaffes and feel his heart is in the right place. His oft-repeated message-“Make America Great Again”—is resonating with people from New York to Hawaii, from hippies over 60 to Millennials who feel it is easier to accept a wheeling-dealing businessman than an entrenched politician with an questionable history.

As of this writing, polls show Trump is in a dead heat against his rival, Hillary Clinton, who’s hoping to take up residence once more in the White House.

Despite the racial and financial turmoil around the country and the sharp contrasts dividing Trump and Clinton, the media has focused the past two days almost exclusively on the “plagiarizing” of speech made by Michelle Obama several years ago by his wife, Melania Trump. The person who wrote the speech has come forward and offered to resign, saying she “didn’t realize she was literally borrowing from Mrs. Obama.” One can only wonder what Trump really thinks of this serious gaffe and what the outcome will be.

Conventioneers warmly welcomed Donald Trump, Jr. Tuesday night, who spoke eloquently about the kind of father and businessman his father has been and his faith in his father leading the nation out of the depths of the worst financial crisis it has suffered since The Great Depression.

The crowd was at fever pitch as Governor Chris Christie gave a laundry list of “errors” Clinton made while Secretary of State, which included the government’s inept response to the attack on the Benghazi’s American Embassy on September 11, 2012 and FBI director James Comey’s concession that Clinton broke rules by using a personal home computer to conduct business as Secretary of State. She was not charged with a crime in that instance, although many believe Comey’s description of the email security breach justified a criminal case.

Christie was followed by former NYC Mayor Rudi Giuliani, who led the city after the September 11 attacks, another staunch supporter of Trump. On Wednesday evening at press time, Indiana Governor Mike Pence was preparing to accept the nomination as Vice President. A Christian conservative, Pence and Trump do have disagreements they can hopefully work through.

Outside the Quicken Loan Arena, protesters are doing a lot of yelling but overall, the GOP Convention has not produced many arrests.

Will the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia  next week brings out demonstrators who are just as vehement against the DNC Presidential nominee?  Trump has repeatedly labeled Clinton as “Crooked Hillary.”