If I could turn back the clock a few months, I’d bet a large sum of money that 2016 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wouldn’t have made it as far as he did.

But the payout wouldn’t have been spectacular, as most American voters would have placed identical bets.

After all, the billionaire business tycoon hinted at running in several past presidential elections, but nothing ever came to fruition. How could anyone ever take him seriously again?

When he announced his official candidacy on June 16 — along with a number of what many have considered politically incorrect statements concerning the state of illegal immigration — the media went bonkers.

Corporations cut ties with Trump faster than a butcher. Establishment Republicans and Democrats quickly scurried back into the safety of their politically correct shadows.

More American voters than anyone ever would have expected lined up to buy their tickets to the hottest show in town – the Trump show.

And I’m one of them.

Sure, I was like everyone else at first – hesitant and weary of his true intentions. But as the weeks went on, it doesn’t look whatsoever like Trump is in this to lose.

That’s because this man, at his very core, is a winner. He simply does not lose. Sure, he’s human and has suffered setbacks here and there — but let me explain something very simple to grasp: one simply doesn’t build an $8 billion business empire by losing.

Let me also remind you of the common sentiment among both voting parties after nearly every  presidential election. It’s the typical grunting and complaining that once again, we managed to elect a career politician – full of empty promises and pie in the sky.

I’m pretty sure most would agree that that’s been the case for quite some time now.

So, here we have an ultra successful business negotiator and master of finances, something this country needs more than ever in its 239-year history.

He’s not a career politician, he has nothing to gain from political favor-trading and has more backbone than any leader of this country has shown in decades.

Though he lives a vastly different existence than almost anyone in the world, because of the qualities listed above, he resonates with average Americans more than any other current candidate on the list.

And that’s not opinion – that’s hard data taken from a variety of recently released polls that place him at the top of a long list of name-brand politicians.

I can now truthfully say I’ve seen Independents, Republicans and Democrats stop debating while they take a seat to hear what Trump has to say. That’s huge.

There’s not a doubt in anyone’s mind that Trump will continue to say what’s on his mind, even if it’s the ugly, hard truth about today’s hot-button topics that a career politician would never dream of commenting on.

But that’s exactly what American voters want — a firebrand candidate who isn’t afraid to get their hands dirty. We’ve craved that for an awfully long time and now we actually have that option available to us.

The bottom line for me is that I’ve heard an interesting variety of people say something along the line of, “Let’s give the guy a shot for four years – it can’t be any worse than the last eight.”

I second that.

As long as he keeps dropping truth-bombs, he’s got my vote.