The race is over. Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States.
History will record the moment the tough-talking media and marketing genius sealed the deal as the evening of Monday and the dawn of Tuesday during this Holy Week.
Over a short, intense few hours of momentous world events, Donald Trump revealed that not only does he understand the grave threats that free and civilized people face, but also that he has the wisdom and temperament to be leader of the free world.
Mr. Trump’s address to American Israel Public Affairs Committee Monday night was thoughtful and considered. It was not one of his rambling ad-lib campaign speeches, which are enormously entertaining for supporters but maddening for people trying to piece together his specific policy positions.
At AIPAC, Mr. Trump laid out a clear and concise vision about the threats we and our allies face from the terror and hatred spewing from Islamic radicals in the Middle East. The speech was highly-informed and clearly influenced by the smart people he is listening to around him.
It was one of his first speeches delivered to an audience that wasn’t filled with Republican Party faithful. It was his first major address of the general election. And he aced it.
The speech was downright thrilling at moments.
“When you live in a society where the firefighters are the heroes, little kids want to be firefighters,” he said. “When you live in a society where athletes and movie stars are heroes, little kids want to be athletes and movie stars.”
“You cannot achieve peace if terrorists are treated as martyrs. Glorifying terrorists is a tremendous barrier to peace.”
In short, the speech terrified people who have at every step of the way been so eager to dismiss Mr. Trump as a ridiculous buffoon. Even better, the speech terrified Democrats.
Seven months of Mr. Trump giving speeches like that will erase this notion that he is some kind of carnival barker. After seven months of this kind of measured, presidential campaigning, Republicans will be happily unified behind a statesmanlike leader and ready to support him against a lying, dissembling, washed-up politician who has a remarkable career of failure on the world stage.
Just a few hours after Mr. Trump finished speaking to AIPAC, terrorist bombs detonated inside the airport and subway in Brussels, Belgium, the very heart of Europe. The deadly terror strike continues the unyielding radical Islamic jihadi war on Europe, America, Christians, Jews and all modern, civilized people.
Since Day One of his campaign, Donald Trump has been laser-focused on this threat, including the desperate need to finally get control of our borders. His speech to AIPAC was only the latest, most presidential, proof of that.
In November, Mr. Trump will face a lifelong politician who is so disengaged from the threat of terrorism that she will not even speak its name, for fear of offending someone.
But Donald Trump will be running against more than just Hillary Clinton. He will also be running against President Obama and the laughable notion that Mr. Obama has earned a third term in the form of Mrs. Clinton’s election.
Hours after the Brussels attack, the sun rose Tuesday morning to find Mr. Obama in Cuba, where he hopes to establish his legacy as a very cool president who likes to vacation where Jay Z and Beyonce vacation. In a speech to the Cuban people about — well, who knows what it was about? Everyone was fixated on more terror news from Brussels — Mr. Obama devoted just 51 seconds to the terrorist attack.
Later in the day, as European investigators scrambled to collect evidence and Americans watched once again in horror at the bloodshed and carnage, Mr. Obama was having a day in the park. Literally. For over an hour, the supposed leader of the free world gathered with communist dictators in the land of the gulag to watch a baseball game.
This is what Donald Trump will be running against in November. And the man who showed up at AIPAC Monday night will win in a landslide.
• Charles Hurt can be reached at charleshurt@live.com. Follow him on Twitter at @charleshurt.
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