The mainstream media as well as the political elite have criticized Donald Trump continuously for his distinctly non-traditional stances on many issues since he first announced he was running for the Republican presidential nomination.

They’ve followed the “playbook,” so to speak: Heap shame and feign outrage every time he says he wants to build a border wall, deport illegal aliens, take aggressive measures against the Islamic State (and their families – like ISIS targets American and Western families), and get rid of so-called ‘gun-free zones’ around schools and other places.

In the past, such non-stop shaming of a candidate’s position has nearly always led to the candidate’s demise, never to be heard from again. But this time around, The Donald isn’t playing by their rules; he’s playing by his own and that’s why not only has he survived the media/political elite cabal, he has thrived.

“It doesn’t seem to matter what he says or who he offends, whether the facts are contested or the ‘political correctness’ is challenged, Donald Trump seems to be wearing Kevlar,” Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, told the Washington Examiner in December.

Now, it seems, all of Trump’s so-called outrageous statements and policy positions can’t even be turned into a negative ad by the campaign of his chief Democratic rival.

As reported by BizPac Review, a new “attack ad” by the campaign of Hillary Clinton attempts to paint Trump as a radical, outrageous, and out-of-control maniac using a series of statements he’s made about immigration, torture, gun rights and so forth, but many took it not as criticism but as an ad that was actually favorable to The Donald. And honestly, chances are good that if Trump is asked about it directly, he’ll say, “Yeah, I said that…and I still say those things.”

“Everything I say I will do, folks, I do,” Trump, addressing a crowd, is shown saying at the outset of the ad spot.

And just what has he said he’ll do, the ad asks next, in an attempt at suspense.

— Get rid of gun-free zones at schools on “my first day, it gets signed;”

— Defund planned parenthood;

— Repeal Obamacare;

— Build a wall along the U.S. southwest border [which, by the way, has already been approved, via 2006 legislation – but Democrats have ensured that it was never fully funded then or since];

— Establish a “deportation force” dedicated to enforcing the nation’s laws against illegal immigration and those who overstay visas;

— A temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S. which a majority of Americans support;

— “Take out” the families of ISIS and other terrorists, to make it clear they should not attack Americans to begin with or they, too, will suffer a similar fate (loss of family members);

— Go further than “waterboarding” when it comes to interrogating known terrorist suspects.

Yes, that’s pretty much the Trump platform thus far. Oh, and, “Make America Great Again,” which was a winning slogan (that Ronald Reagan used) from the get-go.

Now granted, The Donald has walked back some of his positions – on the minimum wage, which he now says should be decided by states rather than the federal government; and on taxes, to name a few. But generally speaking, on these core issues above he really hasn’t wavered, and on those where he has, he has left himself room to do what he thinks he can do best – negotiate.

The point is, Trump gained both notoriety and backing from espousing these policy positions, and he is drawing support not just from members of his own party but also from long-time Democrats who are frustrated with their party’s anti-growth, anti-opportunity agenda. Trying to use them against him in a political ad just seems, well, out of touch.

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