There have been a lot of changes in the second Trump administration, as we all know. But there was one change from the very beginning that hasn’t gotten nearly as much attention as it should. It’s when Trump stood up during his inauguration speech and invoked the idea of Manifest Destiny, which is of course deeply rooted in the idea of American exceptionalism.
For the first time in many generations, a U.S. president felt no shame in proclaiming that America is the greatest nation on the planet. And crucially, Donald Trump didn’t make this proclamation as a platitude. He wasn’t seeking to get a quick sound bite out of it, by reminding people of history class when they heard terms like “Manifest Destiny” and American exceptionalism. Instead, Trump meant it, in a practical sense. We’re the best nation, he said. And therefore we can do what we want. We can impose tariffs and…
