The establishment's in meltdown, the media's on suicide watch, and the donor class are sobbing uncontrollably on their therapist's couch.  The reason: Donald J.  Trump is the 2016 Republican nominee.  Yep, the billionaire media star the people can't get enough of and Washington can't get rid of has closed the deal.

So how did this happen?  Lord knows Washington royalty threw everything they have at this guy, but all the king's money and all the king's men can't knock Trump off his Mexican-funded wall.

The left's explanation for Trump's staying power is voter anger, but we've been Hulk-pissed for years, so what's different in 2016?  The difference is that we the people have one of our own to lead, someone we trust to break the government chains and free the American people from establishment despotism.

Granted, no one thought the people's liberator would show up in a private jet and then switch to his personal limo, but that's our guy.  And if you'd told me any time before June 2015 that I'd support a guy who's been working the system for most of his career, funding the very leeches who are kneecapping the American people, I'd have called you crazy.

Yet here I am, all in for the Donald.  Not because of his very public confession at the outset of his campaign that he himself is a no-good, corrupt, establishment type – that was not exactly an endearing admission.  Nor was it his sincere, heartfelt contrition, because I'm pretty sure that never happened.

So why?  Why, oh why are we letting this political neophyte with no government experience and a shady background hijack the American political process?  The answer: he's one of us, a working stiff living in the real world of everyday.

Okay, technically, Trump's not a working stiff.  He's hardly in a dead-end job living paycheck to paycheck.  But despite his billions, Trump shows up to work every day and puts in eight to twelve hours.  He personally oversees his projects, walks job sites, and sacrifices personal and family time to meet deadlines and make payrolls.   

This is where the Washington elite will never get it, because they have no point of reference for actual work.  Their careers are rooted in words, volumes of empty rhetoric.  There's no passion in their lives, no driving ambition, no actual product to inspire personal pride.

Enter Donald Trump, a man who loves work, values the dollar, and strives for perfection.  A guy who not only owns up to his previous establishment status, but touts it as a plus, an insider who can blow the lid off the government con.  He's like the mobster who goes state's evidence: he knows where the bodies are buried, and yeah, that's a good thing.

But beyond his insider connection, it's Trump's connection with the people that gives him staying power.  If you want to see the magic firsthand, attend a rally.  As Trump likes to say, these rallies are love-ins, thousands of cheering supporters at every event. 

A rally kicks into gear when Trump strolls onto the stage and waves out at the sea of cheering supporters.

"Wow, just wow," Trump says as he approaches the microphone.  He shakes his head in disbelief as he leans on the podium, settles in.  He reaches in his jacket pocket and brings out his notes, though he doesn't use them.  He's in his element, as comfortable with the massive crowds as if he just pulled up a chair to our kitchen table.

Trump gets right into his speech, "Soooo," he starts and he's off.  He takes up his next point, whatever that may be, but never leaves our side.  One minute he promises to bomb the hell out of ISIS, and then he stops and yells, "I love you, too!" to his audience. 

Inevitably, he'll bring up the border, sparking chants of "Build the wall!  Build the wall!"

"Oh, yeah," Trump says.  "We're gonna build that wall."  Then he leans toward the crowd, his hand cupped over his ear.  "And who's going to pay for the wall?"

"Mexico!" the crowd shouts. 

"One hundred percent," he says over the cheers. 

Trump often boasts that he has the most loyal supporters in the country.  True, but Trump's still up against formidable odds, as the media continues to run a fixed game to shield Hillary from the truth and relentlessly pummel Trump with lies.

Remarkably, Trump survives and thrives despite the Democrat/media merger.  The  inside-the-Beltway crowd is dumbfounded.  In their world, there's no explanation for this voter insanity.

Here's a tip for those of you in the establishment who still don't get it.  Trump's secret, his magic bullet, is hard work.  If those of you in Washington or the media really want an inside look at Trump's world, then get a job – a real job, where you work ten to twelve hours a day, make a product you take pride in, construct a building, or provide stellar service to bring in new customers.  A job where you labor under the same oppressive regulations you've imposed on working people across this country, where Obamacare and burdensome taxes gut your paycheck, where you work longer hours or give up that vacation because this anemic job market offers you no alternative.  Join the day-to-day fight to keep your head above water, to feed a family, and give your kids a future. 

Maybe then you'd appreciate the value of a dollar instead of redistributing billions and trillions as if it's Monopoly cash.  You'd find out that if you don't deliver in the business world, you don't get paid; that if you lie to your customers, they'll take their business elsewhere; and if you tell your clients it's your way or the highway, you'll end up flat broke. 

Nigel Farage, the Brit who led the Brexit revolt, recently drew outrage from the European parliament when he chastised his parliamentary colleagues with the following:

I know that virtually none of you have ever done a proper job in your lives, or worked in business, or worked in trade, or indeed ever created a job.

The chamber erupted in a boisterous backlash, but Farage didn't back down, because whether or not any of them ever did hold a "proper" job, it's long forgotten.  Like our government, the U.K. executives are now firmly ensconced on Mahogany Row, salivating over their pending global merger, not a thought for the workers. 

Nigel's 100% right about the disconnect between government and the people.  That's why Trump is so refreshing – a man who actually does hold a proper job as CEO of a multi-billion-dollar company he built, a man who's created tens of thousands of jobs, signed paychecks, and personally supervised quality projects.

Unlike our political elite, Trump didn't get rich taking gifts, bribes, or payoffs from Wall Street or foreign governments.  He's not a career politician with grandiose visions of how they'll someday fix the economy if elected.  No, Trump's the guy who's been there, done that, has real-world experience in business and the know-how to succeed. 

Yet Trump didn't make it to the top and turn his back on the people holding the ladder.  He's an enigma who can sip champagne with the country club crowd yet be as comfortable with the servers and cooks, who says he's more at home with construction workers and cab drivers than society's elite.  Beneath Trump's $6,000 Brioni suit is a regular guy, a man of the people, a working stiff. 

So go to work for our country, Mr. Trump.  Time to put that unparalleled business acumen, New York street smarts, and superior intellectual power to work and make America great again – greater than ever before.