From USA Today, a sensible analysis of Donald Trump the moderate:
I served in Ronald Reagan’s White House and managed his reelection campaign in 1984. Then, like now, the occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was more than a transformative political figure — he was the face of a national revolution. President Reagan won more than 54 million votes in 1984, carrying 49 out of 50 states. Americans overwhelmingly trusted him to roll back government bureaucracy, unleash economic prosperity and pursue peace through military strength.
More than three decades later, Trump ran and won on similar promises. He too vowed to hold Washington accountable, jumpstart sluggish economic growth, and rebuild America’s military to protect our nation’s interests first and foremost. His message resonated in corners of the country where the liberal media and political punditry thought it impossible.
Trump offered a simple platform: he would back off from the ideological agenda of Leftists and their hope of globalism, and instead focus on function. That means reducing taxes and regulation, centering America on some idea of what we are trying to do, and restoring the confidence and faith people have in their nation-state. However, this conflicts with the Leftist agenda of conformity, so it is provoking squawks of discontent from the Establishment formed informally of Leftists in government, media, industry, academia, and entertainment.