Those who are looking beneath the blizzard of attacks on Donald Trump know that the reality is actually very different than the illusion:

* He is opposed to NAFTA and the TPP. Where the former gutted our manufacturing and industrial base, the latter would finish it off.

* He has condemned the invasion of Iraq and wars in the Middle East, which have cost us $4-$5 trillion and produced only chaos.

* He has proposed measures to bring immigration under control, including a temporary ban on Muslims and a better fence with Mexico.

* He is galvanizing interest across the board, drawing independents and blue-collar Democrats to the GOP for the first time since Reagan.

* He is a nationalist and a populist, who wants to improve the lives of working men and women, and qualifies as a non-interventionist.

* The establishment on both sides is alarmed, because Trump is not under their control. He is self-financing and beholden to none.