I would rather use the word “populist” than the word “moderate”.
I agree with your basic point that Trump represents the average voter - not just one party’s extreme wing. He represents the people vs. the bloated government swamp. To me, they makes him a populist.
I always thought of a moderate as someone who claims to represent the voters, but then when he gets to DC, he compromises with the swamp, he cuts a deal, he sells us out.
Overall great post though - I’m just quibbling about semantics. :-)
One way to tell if you are listening to swamp propaganda; If they use the word populist as though its a bad thing. You are listening to an evil swamp monster. Lots of people who seem to be reasonable have said that this politician or that is a populist and that means he has evil dictator tendencies. But what populist means is that people really like the politician. He has grass root appeal. And when a propagandist makes “populism” a bad thing they are really equating evil with democracy and grass roots.
I too don’t like moderates. Because a moderate normally splits the baby in half or compromises. Or said another way. A moderate has no values. But Trump is a true moderate in that he actually has values. They just aren’t aligned with one party or the other. His values are to make good on his promise to Americans. He tries to fulfill campaign promises. Trump did not promise to spend less money. He promised to fix the economy for the most people. Trump did not promise free trade. He promised trade that was in Americans (not American government) best interest. Those are not traditional republican positions. But traditional republicans as well as many independents and former democrats love those ideas.
Maybe when I say Trump is a moderate I mean that he does not fit in either the conservative or liberal bucket. His voters are not far right wing. Trump is American first. He makes a promise and intends to keep it. When you chose a party or a label like conservative or liberal, you can be railroaded into right wing left wing rhetoric that are not in your best interest. Before we chose a strategy of one wing or the other, we should first agree that Americans are the priority regardless of the strategy.