What's a populist?

[Scott Larock]

pop·u·list
ˈpäpyələst/
noun

1. 1.
   a member or adherent of a political party seeking to represent the interests of ordinary people.

adjective

1. 1.
   of or relating to a populist or populists.
   "a populist leader"

With this said, you can say anyone speaking up for ordinary people are populist? Martin Luther King or Nat Turner, even a David Duke (kkk) dude.

If he's the face of regular folks would you consider this a populist?

If so, do establishment candidates fail due to not being trusted even though they try to appeal to the regular man and woman?

 

[Starman]

There isn't a politician alive today that doesn't consider themselves a populist by that definition. Populism is meaningless because it doesn't tell you anything about a politicians philosophy.