Trump’s presidential bid built on political slogans

There is a number that must be sending shock waves through the nation’s political establishment: 10 million – and counting.

It represents the popular vote won by New York billionaire Donald Trump in his unfathomable bid for the Republican nomination for president. And there are still several primaries left, including the big one in California.

According to a website operated by Politico, Trump has received 250,000 more votes than Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, secured in the entire primary season. Indeed, the first-time candidate for elected office has surpassed the Republican Party’s standard-bearer in 2008, U.S. Sen. John McCain, by 153,000 votes.

This all goes to explain why Trump is now the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party, having outlasted 16 competitors, including two U.S. senators and two governors.

The last of the billionaire’s rivals, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, suspended their campaigns last week.

Like other newspapers around the country, The Vindicator Editorial Board considered Kasich the adult in the race, and we viewed Trump as an impetuous, arrogant brat with no respect for the American political system.

Receptive audience

Unfortunately, his win-at-all-costs strategy has found a receptive audience of millions of voters. It is clear to us that Trump’s supporters have allowed their displeasure with all things government to influence their thinking about the presidential race.

They have thrown caution to the wind by supporting an individual who has given new meaning to the word “narcissist.” It is just a matter of time before he adopts the historical phrase attributed to King Louis XIV of France “L’etat, c’est moi”: “The state, it is me.”

Trump has energized the Republican electorate with his campaign promise to “Make America Great Again,” even though he has refused to detail how he intends to keep it.

Here are some of the headline-grabbing things Trump has said he will do as president:

Force American corporations that have moved jobs overseas to bring the jobs back.

Question to Trump: How?

Build a huge wall along the border with Mexico and send the construction bill to the Mexican government.

Question to Trump: How?

Deport 11 million undocumented immigrants.

Question to Trump: How?

Ban all Muslims from entering the United States.

Question to Trump: How?

Destroy the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Question to Trump: How?

Set aside all the multinational trade treaties and demand new terms from America’s trade partners.

Question to Trump: How?

We repeat the question to drive home the point that the billionaire’s campaign to date has been built on political slogans.

Just because he turned the primary election into a three-ring circus does not mean he should be given a pass when the fall campaign goes into high gear after the Republican and Democratic national conventions.

Hillary Clinton, former U.S. secretary of State, U.S. senator and first lady, is expected to be the Democratic Party’s nominee, given her delegate advantage over U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.

It is to be hoped that the general election contest will be one of ideas and vision.

Being the leader of the only superpower in the world is serious business. The job isn’t for someone who shoots from the lip, as Trump does.

The words uttered by the president have consequences, both domestically and globally. The ship of state requires a steady hand at the controls.

Trump must realize that running the country is not the same as running a real-estate business.

There’s no doubt that he has connected with millions of Americans – it does help that he became a household name by hosting the highly successful television show “The Apprentice” – and that his bravado has bolstered his self-image as a fighter.

But being the head of a successful business empire and being the president of the world’s most powerful nation are two very different things.

We must demand better from Trump.