WASHINGTON: Donald Trump is a billionaire real estate tycoon with bravado to spare, a former reality television star who says winning is everything -- and has his sights set on one of the biggest prizes on Earth.
To his fans, the Republican frontrunner is the definition of American success, the cut-throat tycoon who can magically fix all that ails a nation no longer sure of its place in the world, and an increasingly frustrated white working and middle class.
To his critics, he is a racist demagogue or, at best, a buffoon with an orange perma-tan and swooping yellow hair who would either hand Hillary Clinton the presidency -- or lead the world into unmitigated disaster.
This week Trump clinched the most important victory of his fledgling political career, capturing the Republican Party nomination after one of the more extraordinary rises in the history of US politics.
What is clear is that Trump isn't interested in following the traditional political playbook.
He insults women, Mexicans, Muslims, virtually everyone who stands in his way -- including all 16 rivals for the party nomination.
He branded Jeb Bush "low-energy," badgered "Little Marco" Rubio and relentlessly attacked Senator Cruz as "Lyin' Ted."
And yet Trump's tell-it-like-it-is bluntness, defiance of political correctness and disdain for the Washington establishment struck a chord.
He promised to build a wall on the Mexican border, deport millions of illegal immigrants and stand up to China to "Make America Great Again."
Jetting from rally to rally in his Boeing 757, he is treated like a rock star, sucking up as much TV coverage as the other candidates combined. Over the past year Trump has been provided with nearly $2 billion in free air time, according to a New York Times study.
Early in the campaign the question was: Can Trump translate his poll numbers into votes?
After an opening loss to Cruz in Iowa, Trump gained a head of steam that made him unstoppable, besting rivals in early states New Hampshire and South Carolina, snatching seven of 12 contests on March 1, and dominating in the last seven states.
The question now becomes, how will Trump fare in the November election?
"We're going to win so big," Trump told the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in a cameo appearance before formally accepting the party nomination.
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