The only obstacle that can prevent Donald Trump from clinching the Republican presidential nomination is an act of "divine intervention," veteran political commentator and two-time presidential candidate Patrick J. Buchanan tells
Newsmax TV.
"Trump is indeed the presumptive nominee as of now and if he wins Indiana, I don't see how he is stopped absent divine intervention," Buchanan said Friday to J.D. Hayworth on "Newsmax Prime."
"I think what's happening is that the realization that Trump is going to be the nominee and if he does really well in the election, we can save both Houses of Congress [for Republicans] and we are all going to be in this together.
"While a lot of folks are still resisting to the idea of Trump as the nominee, I think more and more are moving toward a posture of acceptance."
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After his five-state sweep earlier this week, Trump now has 996 delegates wrapped up and needs just 241 more to reach the magic number of 1,237 that will prevent a contested GOP convention this summer.
Trump’s rivals, second-place Ted Cruz and third-place John Kasich, are slavishly working to deny as many delegates as possible for the billionaire developer.
"By the time you get to the convention, almost all Republicans, except those who are walking out and going elsewhere, I think they will be aboard if they're not enthusiastic," said Buchanan, an adviser to Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford.
"One thing Trump has with his constituency is an immense enthusiasm and interest which is almost a rarity in national politics in recent years."
Buchanan agreed there are similarities between his own 1992 campaign to Trump’s bid for the White House.
"[There] was the theme of foreign policy in our campaign in 1992 and it is time to put America first," Buchanan told Hayworth.
"[Trump is] saying, the allies have to pay more, I'm going to talk to the Russians, I'm going to talk to the Chinese, he didn't call them any names. We do have to rebuild our defenses, but I don't want to march into any unthinking wars."
Buchanan is the author of
"The Greatest Comeback: How Richard Nixon Rose from Defeat to Create the New Majority," published by Crown Forum.