Will the GOP establishment steal the 2016 nomination from Donald Trump even if the magnate arrives in Cleveland with the most pledged delegates but short of the 50 percent he’d need to be nominated?

Is a back-room deal in the works to have a “brokered convention” to deny Trump the GOP nod? I think there is such a plan and it must be exposed.

Donald Trump is our last hope to make Washington work for us – not the lobbyists, special interests and billionaire donors who control the corroded two-party system. As Trump says: “America is going to hell!”

I am a veteran of nine national Republican presidential campaigns, including the floor of the 1976 Republican National Convention for Ronald Reagan. My sources inside the Republican party are warning me:

The insiders have a stunning plan to stop Trump even if he wins the primaries.

The plan involves stalling Trump short of a majority on the first ballot, since many of the delegates pledged to him would no longer be legally bound to support him on subsequent ballots. There are many, many Trojan Horse delegates inserted by the GOP establishment who could bolt from Trump after that first ballot.

Remember, up until March 14 all primaries have proportional delegate allocation. Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush and the rest will be winning delegates, too.

There are 278 Super Delegates who are GOP establishment insiders, likely opposed to Trump. They constitute 4 percent of the convention. Thus, Trump must win 54 percent of delegates elected in caucuses and primaries to guarantee he could block a plot to stop him.

To make it worse, Convention Rule 40 B says the Candidate must have a majority of

delegates in at least eight states. The Romney people passed this rule in 2012 when they had control of the party. It hurts Donald Trump.

By hanging in the race long after they have any chance of being nominated, sustained by Super PAC money, Trump’s opponents can drain votes and could perhaps stop Trump from gaining a majority in any state – even while he is winning a plurality. Bush, Christie, Rubio and Kasich, I’m told, are in on this plan. Many GOP insiders calling it the “BIG STEAL.”

For example, Trump could win every primary, but the Bush-Rubio-Christie-Kasich-McConnell-Ryan-wing of the GOP could block Trump and seize the nomination for an establishment alternative. Rule 40B could block Trump from the nomination, bypass Cruz and pave the way for a backroom BIG STEAL deal that nominates, say, a Rubio-Kasich ticket.

Many party moderates and GOP congressional establishment types would rather have Hillary Clinton, who they can wheel and deal with, then Trump, who vows to drain their swamp.

The Trump candidacy is a citizen insurrection, an authentic uprising. We want to make America Great Again! The Washington consultant and lobbyist class are scared to death because Trump cannot not be bought. Trump is his own man and he will bring radical reform to government.

The BIG STEAL has already begun. Even today, a Super PAC supporting John Kasich is spending $2.5 million on harsh negative ads attacking Donald Trump. Jeb Bush and his billionaires have spent an estimated $16 million attacking Trump on TV. Chris Christie attacked Trump this week, calling Trump a “carnival barker.” All of this is part of the BIG STEAL plan to stall Trump short of a majority of delegates and force a brokered convention.

We must demand the Super-Delegates vote for the winner of the primaries, not some “STOP TRUMP” candidate like Rubio or Bush. The Trump forces can repeal Rule 40 B, clearing the way for a Trump nomination by a simple majority – with 51 percent.

If Trump is robbed at the Republican National Convention, millions of American tired of the two-party insiders and the Washington insiders will not vote Republican. Millions of working class Democrats won’t vote Republican. Hillary Clinton will win.

But maybe that’s what some in the Republican Establishment want.