Donald Trump assumed the American presidency in the aftermath of a bitterly fought
presidential campaign. Instead of healing the political wounds of the nation in the time-honoured
American tradition of pragmatic arbitration, the Trump administration has
drawn upon polarizing politico-cultural trends to frame the tenets of its America First
policy agenda both domestically and globally. Two such developments in American
domestic political culture, the narratives of decline and the revival of religiosity, are
particularly relevant when assessing the Trump administration’s leadership mode and its
emphasis on securing Western civilization against its enemies. 

Tapping into these underlying politico-cultural trends allowed Trump to win an election
in an era when the structural demographic trends in America should have favoured
the democratic candidate. However, by utilizing them as a mode of legitimation for its
rule, the administration risks further confrontation and polarization of the American
body politic. Internationally, the result has been a Manichean message of a civilizational
battle between good and evil, suspicion of globalist influences and alliances, along with
the drive to erect stronger borders. When assessing the Trump phenomenon and its
implications for America’s global role, it is therefore essential to acknowledge that the
sense of American decline, the revival of nativism and religion in US politics, and the
country’s changing demographics are intimately intertwined with broader debates over
America’s national and, by implication, foreign policy identity.