Updated

So Donald Trump had a great night on Tuesday. He is the presumptive GOP presidential nominee. No matter how many vice presidential running mates Ted Cruz or John Kasich pick, they can't change reality. Give it a rest boys. I know reality bites, but your starting to look delusional.

Now to the point of this story. Many Democrats and members of the mainstream media (I know, I repeat myself) don't understand the popularity of Donald Trump. Well, I understand it very well. I was there from the start. I wrote the very first commentary predicting Trump's success here at Fox News. And I've never wavered since.

Why is Trump winning? Why is he striking a chord with so many Americans?

It's the economy, stupid. 

I live in the real world. I am a private sector businessman. I have “boots on the ground.” I understand that President Obama has wrecked the U.S. economy. We are in an economic disaster. And it can get worse. Much worse. If someone who thinks just like Obama is elected, we could slide into economic Armageddon. America’s economy could smash to the ground like Humpty Dumpty -- into a million pieces, we can never put back together again.

I know this because I’m a small businessman with 15 different and diverse businesses and careers. And all 15 are in trouble. All 15 are sucking wind. All 15 are hurting like never before in my lifetime (I’m 54 years old). And I will admit it -- I’m scared.

I’ve seen some really bad trends, up close and personal. Consumers don’t want to spend money anymore. Investors don’t want to invest anymore (at least not in small business). No one wants to hire anymore. No one wants to pay bills on time anymore.

The people that pay me monthly checks are paying late…or slow paying…or refusing to pay at all. People that I know and trust for many years are using home equity loans to pay their employee payrolls. They are using credit cards to pay taxes. They have no idea how to pay their massive health insurance premiums caused by Obamacare. My friends and business associates are in trouble. Deep trouble.

It’s all going bad under Barack Obama.

Then I saw the exit polls on Fox News on Tuesday night after five overwhelming, massive, YUUUUGE Republican primary landslides for Donald Trump. What was the number one issue for a large majority of Republican voters? The economy and jobs.

There was no close second. Even Trump’s signature issue of immigration was at the bottom of their list. The voters are scared to death about this economy, jobs and the future of middle class America.

But it’s not all voters. It’s just Republican voters.

Why? Because like me, most Republican voters are living in this nightmare. Republicans are the private sector. We own our own small businesses. Or we work for private sector businesses. Or we’re independent contractors -- real estate brokers, stockbrokers, car salesman, insurance brokers, mortgage brokers, etc. In other words, we are “boots on the ground.” We are the first to know something is wrong with the economy. We are the ones who know when the politicians and media are lying through their teeth.

We know Obama, Hillary and the mainstream media are lying about “economic recovery.” There is no recovery. We have been living in an 8-year-long Obama Great Depression.

Yes, those living in New York (Wall Street), San Francisco (Silicon Valley) and Washington, D.C. (government jobs and contracts) are fat and happy. But everywhere else in-between, the people are in severe trouble. We are scared. We are hurting. We know this is getting worse. We know where this could end- with a complete economic collapse and the end of America.

Republican voters voted for Donald Trump because:

A. They don’t trust any politician to save us, or to change the situation. That includes even a pure conservative politician like Ted Cruz. Conservative, or not, Cruz has spent his entire life as a lawyer and government employee. He’s never created a job in his life. For all intents and purposes, Ted Cruz -- like 99 percent of politicians -- might as well be Obama.

B. They understand only a capitalist billionaire businessman can possibly turn this nightmare around. They know Trump has failed at a few businesses- and they don’t care. At least he failed with his own money, not the taxpayers! What a refreshing change.

C. And interestingly, maybe those failures make Trump the perfect guy to turnaround the U.S. economy.

Sure Trump has failed but he came back bigger and better than ever, each and every time.Maybe, just maybe, Trump can show America and the middle class how to recover, just like he did after almost losing it all.

Here’s where the “Two Americas” comes in. Republican voters get all this. But Democrat voters haven‘t a freaking clue there’s a problem. Have you noticed?

Every Democrat I speak to swears the economy is fine. You know why there is such a disconnect? Because Democrats almost never work in the private sector. They sign the back of paychecks, not the front. Huge difference.

Democrats have rarely ever put up $100,000 or $1,000,000 of their own money to start a business (I have, many times). They’ve never risked their life savings to make payroll (I have). They’ve never sold anything for a living (I have every day of my life). They’ve never woken up on a Monday with no idea how they’ll pay their mortgage or bills this week (I do that every week). Republicans and Democrats live in different worlds.

Republicans work for a living, sell for a living, own for a living. We do it all with our own money, talent and wits. We sign the front of paychecks, not the back. Everything we do is with our own money. I’ve never taken a government check in my life.

But Democrats. The vast majority of Obama, Hillary and Bernie supporters belong to one of four categories:

A. They work for someone else. They collect a safe weekly paycheck, without ever having to worry where the money comes from.

B. They work for government, or collect a pension from government for NOT working.

C. They collect a welfare or entitlement check (or many different checks) from government.

D. They are in school, or college, or broke and jobless living in mommy and daddy’s basement eating Doritos, while watching Jerry Springer. They’ve never earned a serious check, let alone signed the front of one. They understand nothing about money or the economy.

So yes, Republicans and Democrats do live in different worlds. That accounts for most Republicans supporting Donald Trump with fervor and passion and enthusiasm. And virtually all Democrats despising him and being repulsed by him.

In many cases, Trump may be the first politician (or person) Democrat voters have ever met that signs the front of a paycheck.

What it comes down to is…

"It's the economy, stupid!"