I have a slightly more nuanced view of TR. He did seem to be an anti-Communist, though domestically he was of the left. I never viewed him as outright evil, like Wilson. TR was a warmonger, but part of that stemmed from the fact that he did well while out on the field. Once his son was killed, that took the luster away.
Perhaps I should’ve prefaced my point about “Progressivism” in the pre- and Soviet era. Post-Soviet, especially after the 1930s, I would indeed call it unapologetically Communist/pro-Soviet. The 1910s version seemed to be more the cult of TR (the ones who split from the Taftist GOP) and were the ones who believed that government and societal ills could be cured with the “right” policies. A “good government” (Socialist-lite) agenda.
In some cases, something as simple as being opposed to a corrupt or semi-corrupt urban political machine. The example of Milwaukee, which openly embraced (German) Socialism and under the party banner, when it came to urban policies, it wasn’t some hardcore Communist agenda, but basically a good government agenda and putting utilities under municipal control. Now the urban vs. federal was a different story (where their Congressman, Victor Berger, was more a subversive leftist).
Of course, what is seen as a benevolent ideology or agenda in the short run can become a malevolent one in time, as leftism did.
That's like saying Stalin was "anti-Communist" because he hated Trotsky.
Leftism was malevolent from its very origin.