Editor's Note: (Mel Robbins is a CNN commentator, legal analyst, best-selling author and keynote speaker. In 2014, she was named outstanding news talk-radio host by the Gracie Awards. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author)
(CNN) It's over. Donald Trump is the Republican nominee.
He just added Nevada to the growing list of caucus primary wins, and while he needs more delegates to clinch it, who the heck can stop him now?
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He is leading in national polls and in many state polls; he's succeeded in upending rivals such as Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush and Ben Carson; and there's no one in sight who can stop him. The only question is when will the GOP embrace him? The answer: no time soon.
The establishment doesn't like him because it can't control him. Yet he's the only conservative candidate who stands a chance against Hillary Clinton. The polls may reflect Marco Rubio doing well as a conservative uniter, but no one will hammer Clinton's biggest weakness better than Trump, and that's Clinton fatigue.
Sorry, Bernie fans, the Democratic nomination is hers to lose.
Bush has limped away from the race in a manner that validates almost every insult Trump had flung at him (these are just from the past two weeks):
"Total disaster," "had to bring in mommy to take a slap at me," "zero communication skills," "weak candidate," "spent a fortune of special interest money on a Super Bowl ad," "desperate," "failed campaign," "Not a leader!" "by far the weakest of the lot," "Jeb failed as Jeb," "gave up and enlisted Mommy and his brother," "Weak," "no chance."
READ: 6 takeaways from Republican debate
At least Jeb had the guts to face the truth and withdraw. John Kasich is a nice guy, and he gives good hugs, but under what scenario does he actually win? Carson is just as surprised as you and me that he's still on stage, which means he doesn't belong there.
Staying in the race is delusional at this point. It's time they pack their bags and turn their loss into a win on the speaking and publishing circuit.
That leaves Rubio and Cruz. Neither one of them can beat Clinton, or Trump for that matter. Yes, Cruz captured Iowa, but he is too scary for moderate Republicans and independents. And the GOP "establishment" can hope that with Jeb gone, Rubio will scoop up enough non-Trump votes to cruise to a victory, but that's not happening either. After Cruz and Trump grab their share of the undecided, there won't be enough left to give Rubio the bump he needs to pass Trump.
Donald Trump's rise
President-elect Donald Trump has been in the spotlight for years. From developing real estate and producing and starring in TV shows, he became a celebrity long before winning the White House.
Trump at age 4. He was born in 1946 to Fred and Mary Trump in New York City. His father was a real estate developer.
Trump, left, in a family photo. He was the second-youngest of five children.
Trump, center, stands at attention during his senior year at the New York Military Academy in 1964.
Trump, center, wears a baseball uniform at the New York Military Academy in 1964. After he graduated from the boarding school, he went to college. He started at Fordham University before transferring and later graduating from the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania's business school.
Trump stands with Alfred Eisenpreis, New York's economic development administrator, in 1976 while they look at a sketch of a new 1,400-room renovation project of the Commodore Hotel. After graduating college in 1968, Trump worked with his father on developments in Queens and Brooklyn before purchasing or building multiple properties in New York and Atlantic City, New Jersey. Those properties included Trump Tower in New York and Trump Plaza and multiple casinos in Atlantic City.
Trump attends an event to mark the start of construction of the New York Convention Center in 1979.
Trump wears a hard hat at the Trump Tower construction site in New York in 1980.
Trump was married to Ivana Zelnicek Trump from 1977 to 1990, when they divorced. They had three children together: Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric.
The Trump family, circa 1986.
Trump uses his personal helicopter to get around New York in 1987.
Trump stands in the atrium of the Trump Tower.
Trump attends the opening of his new Atlantic City casino, the Taj Mahal, in 1989.
Trump signs his second book, "Trump: Surviving at the Top," in 1990. Trump
has published at least 16 other books, including "The Art of the Deal" and "The America We Deserve."
Trump and singer Michael Jackson pose for a photo before traveling to visit Ryan White, a young child with AIDS, in 1990.
Trump dips his second wife, Marla Maples, after the couple married in a private ceremony in New York in December 1993. The couple divorced in 1999 and had one daughter together, Tiffany.
Trump putts a golf ball in his New York office in 1998.
An advertisement for the television show "The Apprentice" hangs at Trump Tower in 2004. The show launched in January of that year. In January 2008, the show returned as "Celebrity Apprentice."
A 12-inch talking Trump doll is on display at a toy store in New York in September 2004.
Trump attends a news conference in 2005 that announced the establishment of Trump University. From 2005 until it closed in 2010, Trump University had about 10,000 people sign up for a program that promised success in real estate.
Three separate lawsuits -- two class-action suits filed in California and one filed by New York's attorney general -- argued that the program was mired in fraud and deception. Trump's camp rejected the suits' claims as "baseless." And Trump has charged that the New York case against him is politically motivated.
Trump attends the U.S. Open tennis tournament with his third wife, Melania Knauss-Trump, and their son, Barron, in 2006. Trump and Knauss married in 2005.
Trump wrestles with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at WrestleMania in 2007. Trump has close ties with the WWE and its CEO, Vince McMahon.
For "The Apprentice," Trump was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2007.
Trump appears on the set of "The Celebrity Apprentice" with two of his children -- Donald Jr. and Ivanka -- in 2009.
Trump poses with Miss Universe contestants in 2011. Trump had been executive producer of the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants since 1996.
In 2012, Trump announces his endorsement of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Trump speaks in Sarasota, Florida, after accepting the Statesman of the Year Award at the Sarasota GOP dinner in August 2012. It was shortly before the Republican National Convention in nearby Tampa.
Trump appears on stage with singer Nick Jonas and television personality Giuliana Rancic during the 2013 Miss USA pageant.
Trump -- flanked by U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, left, and Ted Cruz -- speaks during a CNN debate in Miami on March 10. Trump dominated the GOP primaries and emerged as the presumptive nominee in May.
The Trump family poses for a photo in New York in April.
Trump speaks during a campaign event in Evansville, Indiana, on April 28. After Trump won the Indiana primary, his last two competitors dropped out of the GOP race.
Trump delivers a speech at the Republican National Convention in July, accepting the party's nomination for President. "I have had a truly great life in business," he said. "But now, my sole and exclusive mission is to go to work for our country -- to go to work for you. It's time to deliver a victory for the American people."
Trump apologizes in a video, posted to his Twitter account in October, for vulgar and sexually aggressive remarks he made a decade ago regarding women. "I said it, I was wrong and I apologize,"
Trump said, referring to lewd comments he made during a previously unaired taping of "Access Hollywood." Multiple Republican leaders rescinded their endorsements of Trump after the footage was released.
Trump walks on stage with his family after he was declared the election winner on November 9. "Ours was not a campaign, but rather, an incredible and great movement," he told his supporters in New York.
Trump is joined by his family as he is sworn in as President on January 20.
Last summer, I gave you five reasons why so many Americans loved Trump and why he would go the distance. Notice, four of the five points cemented his path to the Republican nomination. At the time, the seasoned political commentators and pundits just rolled their eyes at me. Now they're predicting a win.
1. He's real.
2. He doesn't care what you think.
3. Many Americans hate Washington.
4. It's early (null).
5. You want to see him debate.
(As I mentioned in that piece, in full disclosure, I know Trump. I've delivered keynotes for his company, spoken at the same leadership events, chatted in green rooms and interviewed him on camera.)
Also notice Trump's campaign hasn't changed one bit in eight months, either. If anything, Trump has just doubled down on the tone, the temper and the tactics.
In July 2015, this is how Trump put it to a crowd in Sun City, South Carolina: "We are tired of being pushed around and led around by stupid people ... we need smart leadership, we need great leadership. We need to make America great again." There was no policy then, and there isn't policy now. And it doesn't seem to matter.
Even back then, Trump was telling the media he didn't see Jeb "as a factor," and he was right.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus reportedly told Trump to tone done his rhetoric last summer. Yet he's only turned the volume up.
In September, the world was up in arms over his loose tongue at the mic and Twitter rants. No one could believe it when he called Lindsey Graham "a total lightweight ... idiot," and barked that Rick Perry wears glasses so "people think he's smart," and Obama's administration officials are "dopes." Carly Fiorina's face bothered him, Megyn Kelly had blood coming out of her "whatever."
That hasn't slowed down either. In fact, who hasn't he offended at this point? Basically, no one. Trump's targets:
- The Pope
- George W. Bush
- Women
- Mexican immigrants
- Fox News
- Refugees
- Muslims
- The Koch brothers
- Washington
- Apple
Luckily, CNN and The New York Times have amassed lists of Trump's insults.
He even said he could shoot one of his supporters and he'd still win. Sadly, he might be right, assuming he wasn't arrested and jailed for it. On Monday, he said he missed the "good old days" because he wanted to punch a protester.
Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes
The GOP establishment has been wrong at every turn, and Trump has been right. In business, there's an explanation for this: disruption. That's what Trump has done -- he's disrupted politics as usual and changed the rules entirely. As I argued in January, once disrupters such as Amazon, Uber and Airbnb get out front, they become nearly impossible to beat.
That's why the establishment hates him. Not only has he changed the rules, he has upended the hierarchy. The GOP has been snubbed. It's sort of like that moment a few weeks ago, when Paul McCartney was turned away from a Grammy after party. McCartney used to own the industry, but now he isn't relevant enough for insider access.
That's why, for Thursday's final debate before Super Tuesday, we will all be tuning in -- to see what Trump does. And I can tell you exactly what will happen.
He's been 100% consistent since he jumped into the race last summer. He'll tell us he plans to make America great again. He'll remind us that we've got lousy deals with China and Iran. And he'll go on the attack.
The only thing that's shocking about all this is the fact that while Trump is always on the attack, no one has been able to land a direct hit back.
And consider this: Trump hasn't even begun insulting Rubio yet. Trust me, it's coming. And so is a negotiation trick he's been using this entire time: lowering the perceived power of his opponent.
Mark my words, just as Trump pushed Jeb out of the race by calling him "weak" and "low-energy," he'll push Rubio out of the way by referring to him as a decent choice for "VP."
Campaign slogans
A Ronald Reagan campaign button shows his 1980 slogan, "Let's Make America Great Again."
For his 2016 campaign, Donald Trump's slogan is "Make America Great Again," an echo of Reagan's. Here a supporter wears the slogan on a button.
Hillary Clinton has used the slogan, "Hillary for America" and also had supporters display posters saying "Fighting for us." A member of the audience holds a campaign sign at the top of a set of bleachers as Clinton speaks in Iowa on January 30.
Campaign buttons for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders highlight his "Feel the Bern" slogan.
"I Like Ike" decal from the 1952 presidential campaign, showing a close-up portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the popular World War II general who went on to serve two terms as president.
Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio signs autographs under his "A New American Century" slogan at a campaign rally February 5.
Republican presidential candidate and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks to supporters during a rally on his "Jeb Can Fix It" tour on November 2, 2015.
President Harry Truman's 1948 election campaign made the expression "Give em hell, Harry!" famous.
So what is the GOP waiting for? In the past six GOP primaries without an incumbent, with the exception of Newt Gingrich in 2012, every South Carolina winner since 1980 went on to become the eventual Republican nominee.
For all Trump haters, that's not good news.
If you are still crossing your fingers hoping for a Rubio surge, I advise you, don't waste your time. The race is over. It's time for the GOP establishment to decide if it wants to continue the identity crisis or elect a president.
The Republican nominee is Donald Trump.
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