Thread by @LarryGlickman

I disagree with this @mattyglesias piece that argues Trump ran as a moderate. This is an argument I see a lot but I think it is wrong.
vox.com/2019/7/2/20677…

On the issues that mattered most-tax cuts, abortion, repeal of ACA-Trump ran as a conservative Republican, as I argued way back in February 2016.
baselinescenario.com/2016/02/03/don…

I’ll grant that some people perceived Trump as less conservative, one of the few claims backed up with solid evidence in this piece. /3

And the fact that Trump didn’t campaign on a platform to shred the social safety net does not make him a moderate. Even George W. Bush waited until he won re-election to try to privatize social security. He didn’t run on this and no GOP candidate ever has./4

And Trump did say he would provide universal health care and support infrastructure spending. But his plans for these things were either non-existent or obvious bs (remember “remove the lines”?) /5

On Jason Miller's appearance with Chuck Todd on 10/28/16, just before the election his closing argument was, "Trump is [sic] consistently been driving the message on repealing Obamacare, about cutting taxes." No mention of moderate issues./6
msnbc.com/transcripts/mt…

Trump also opposed raising the minimum wage. With “taxes too high, wages too high, we’re not going to be able to compete against the world,” he said in the Milwaukee debate. /7
time.com/4107636/transc…

Matt's claim about Trump's gay-friendly campaign was not quite new in the GOP as @burgerinfo showed: "George W. Bush started out as perhaps the most gay-friendly Republican president," who "recoiled at the gay-bashing of the religious right." /8
politico.com/magazine/story…

And of course the Muslim ban, “Mexico is going to pay for the wall,” the encouragement of mob violence, the “ lock her up” chant, and his other fascist-adjacent applause lines hardly fit the moderate category./10