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Oh what a night!

He could have gone anywhere, but Donald J. Trump chose Wilkes-Barre to sell his “Make America Great Again” pitch the day before the influential Pennsylvania primary election.

And the more than 10,000 people who packed the Mohegan Sun Arena Monday night bought it. And so did voters throughout the state who delivered Trump a decisive win. Even more significantly, delegates who vowed to vote for him at the Republican National Convention in July in Cleveland won big Tuesday night. Interestingly, their votes carry more weight than ours.

Trump told the ebullient crowd at the arena that, if elected, he would restore respect to the office of the presidency and that years from now they would realize they had cast one of the most important votes of their lives. A less modest man couldn’t have said it better.

What would a President Donald Trump do if he arrived in Saudi Arabia and there were no dignitaries there to meet him?

Take a guess, although the answer’s pretty obvious. Unlike President Barack Obama, who accepted that humiliating snub and a similar one on his visit to Cuba, Trump said he would never allow anyone to show such utter disrespect to the president of the United States.

He said he’d call over the pilot and ask, “How much fuel do we have left?” “Plenty, sir. This is Air Force One.” OK, a President Trump would say, we’re leaving.

The crowd roared its approval, apparently agreeing and respecting that no one would “play games” with the man who has taken the Republican Party by storm while confounding the party’s elite, who are trying to derail his momentum.

And it seems the more Trump is ganged up on, the higher his popularity soars, which is all the more intriguing since Trump can be a bit of a bully himself.

The billionaire businessman is a phenomenon, and his timing is impeccable. Donald Trump recognized early on that the American public is sick and tired of the status quo, fed up with illegal immigrants sapping our resources and disgusted with politicians of both parties beholden to lobbyists and other special interests.

The numbers don’t lie.

Wilkes-Barre greeted Trump like a rock star. None of the other presidential candidates could ever have hoped to fill our arena. Hillary Clinton drew 1,200 to her rally in Dunmore High School. Her Democratic rival Bernie Sanders attracted a respectable 2,000 to the Scranton Cultural Center. Republican candidate Ted Cruz spoke to 550 during his visit to the Radisson Lackawanna Station.

Tuesday as expected, Trump trounced his rivals, whom he calls “Lying Ted” Cruz and “1 for 38” John Kasich.

Trump spares no one who ruffles his feathers, and the crowd loves it. Cruz and Kasich formed a loose alliance Monday to try to siphon delegates away from him. Trump called their “desperate” ploy collusion.

Just what do the Republican power brokers, who fear him so much, know that millions of voters do not?

Trump said he’s ready to take on “Crooked” Hillary in the general election and warned that he hasn’t even begun to go after her yet. Those of us who shudder at the thought of Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton returning to the White House can’t wait until he does.

Watching Donald Trump on TV over and over again was nothing compared to seeing and hearing him in person promising to make America great again.

This is one of those rare “We’re mad as hell, and we’re not going to take it anymore” moments depicted in the movie “Network.” Trump calls it a movement. Whatever it is, it has given rise to a socialist Bernie Sanders, and a non-politician Trump, who has knocked some strong former governors like Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Scott Walker, Rick Perry and Mike Huckabee out of the running for president.

This powerhouse contender made it clear at the Mohegan Sun Arena that as president and commander in chief, he will be a force to be reckoned with.

And then the rally was over.

Donald Trump had left the building.

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Zeroing In

Betty Roccograndi

Betty Roccograndi, a former Times Leader reporter and award-winning journalist, is a freelance columnist. Reach her by email at [email protected].