Deals over ideals: The remaking of American values under Trump

Donald Trump’s highly disruptive new administration has broken many established conventions, attitudes and policies, causing shock and upheaval both domestically and abroad. What is his intent? What will the long-term impact be? It is difficult to draw conclusions at this point in time, but one thing is certain — Trump is leading the world into a new era of value reassessment.

At this epoch, one is reminded of the era of China’s May Fourth Movement and the ensuing New Culture Movement, when forward-thinking intellectuals wielded metaphorical hammers, vigorously challenging traditional values while promoting novel, imported values. The actions of these intellectuals resulted in ideological upheaval, which in turn led to an era of reform.

Hu Shih, a luminary of the New Culture Movement, aptly summarised this as the “transvaluation of all values” — a phrase that served as both a catalyst and guidepost, becoming an important slogan and benchmark for the movement.

During this time, the rejection of tradition and the embrace of Western ideas and new trends became widespread. The slogan not only unified diverse new ideologies but also subtly conveyed perspectives on the strengths and weaknesses of Chinese and Western cultures, guiding the emergence of a new era.

Trump has almost entirely rejected contemporary and popular values. The principles driving his administration are a blend of traditional ideas and new concepts, all aimed at “making America great again” by dismantling what he sees as the entrenched “deep state” within the US. In addition to strongly opposing “political correctness”, Trump and his key advisor, Elon Musk, have sparked significant efforts to overhaul the bureaucracy.

Furthermore, Trump also views the entire US establishment as a “deep state” and wholly distrusts the Washington elite. The core reason for this is because American values of governance are largely establishment-oriented, which are incompatible with his “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement. This incompatibility thus necessitates a reshaping of values and a fresh start.

Trump applies his new value system to assess Washington’s establishment elite, and deems them captives of the old order who are incapable of truly embracing his new values and policies. That is why he was quick to dismiss a large number of officials from the previous administration, including four-star generals. Prior to taking office, he compiled a blacklist categorising those with entrenched governance ideologies as part of the “deep state”, ensuring they would never be hired.

With this shift in values, the criteria for selecting and employing personnel changed as well, prompting a reevaluation of the purpose of existence for institutions. One of the first agencies Trump targeted for cuts was the United States Agency for International Development (USAID); to Trump, international aid and humanitarianism are unnecessary, and their underlying values need to be discarded completely.

The dismissal of personnel and dismantling of agencies needed to be undertaken by individuals aligned with the new values, akin to how Mao Zedong formed the Central Cultural Revolution Group during China’s Cultural Revolution to dismantle the existing system and supplant it with new values and thinking.

Trump enlisted Musk to lead juvenile, inexperienced and non-traditional government personnel to clean up the deep state. This so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) exists outside the traditional government structure and is not subjected to any conventional oversight, mercilessly conducting inspections of government agencies. It is able to represent the president in taking action to purge any government agency. With a fresh set of governing values in place, all policy actions followed suit — regardless of the turmoil or chaos that might ensue.

Trump is categorically opposed to the “woke” revolution that swept across the US. The real aim of the “woke” revolution is to change US culture and destroy everything from the past, including traditional values, the traditional family structure and traditional systems. Trump seeks to reverse this inversion of right and wrong. He abhors the “woke” ideology aimed at dismantling tradition as he thinks it is a Marxist ideology that will obliterate all established US values and rebuild a culture and policy based on socialist values.

According to Trump, American education is presently rife with value distortions, such as indoctrination, historical revisionism and the remodelling of US society through the lenses of a socialist oppressor-oppressed paradigm. Therefore, he has threatened to abolish the Department of Education.

Additionally, the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), which embrace progressive values, have seemingly become mainstream in the US. Yet, Trump wasted no time in kicking such values aside, overturning them across government organisations and policy programmes. His values and international perspective regarding foreign affairs are also starkly different from the past ten or so US presidents.

He espouses a disturbing set of attitudes and values on the Ukraine war: what benefits do traditional allies bring to me? What is an alliance of values worth? In the Russia-Ukraine war, how can the US benefit from both sides? How will Zelenskyy repay US aid? How will European countries aiding Ukraine manage the aftermath themselves?

The same logic applies to the Israel-Palestine issue. With Hamas hiding among the Palestinians, Trump suggested clearing the Gaza Strip and proposed that the US take control to transform it into another French Riviera. As for the Palestinians who have lived there for over a thousand years, other Arab countries should accommodate them — in his view, their future is not America’s responsibility. This perspective is purely from the standpoint of US interests.

America’s interests are Trump’s utmost priority when perceiving and handling international affairs. He feels that neighbouring countries Canada and Mexico should pay high tariffs because they failed to effectively curb the flow of immigrants and drugs into the US while enjoying significant trade surpluses. He suggested that Canada could be incorporated into the US, that Greenland could be sold to America, and that the Panama Canal should be returned to the US, because America, as the world’s dominant power, aligns with past imperialistic values.

He also argued that traditional allies — like the European Union (EU), Japan and South Korea — should be charged tariffs because they were unwilling to pay more for protection and for supposedly constantly taking advantage of the US. No ally, no matter how friendly, would be spared. In his view, tariffs cannot be lowered, nor could they exceed those imposed on American products. Trump has redefined tariffs, using them as weapons to force other nations into compliance, rather than mere economic tools.

Since World War II, the US has assumed — or been assigned — the role of the world’s police, but Trump now wants to relinquish this responsibility and revert to an isolationist stance. The concept of democratic nations forming alliances against authoritarian regimes no longer holds significance for him. In his view, the US no longer needs to expand its military power to maintain global dominance.

A February Washington Post report reveals that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has been directed to cut the defence budget by 8% annually over the next five years, even if it weakens America’s military deterrence — a consequence Trump seems unconcerned about. His approach to America’s “traditional allies” and “partners” is marked by indifference — he feels no emotional connection or special regard for them, nor does he attribute them any particular value.

He evaluates countries purely based on how well they serve American interests. Adversarial nations are tough to handle, while allies are docile and easier to deal with, making them ideal targets for the first salvo. These allies, long reliant on the US, lack independent strength, becoming low-hanging fruit that provide maximum value to the US and others in the short term. For Trump, securing deals that benefit both the US and his own reputation has become the highest priority when handling international affairs.

He views all relationships as transactions, where everything can be used as leverage in negotiations and deals. No abstract value or concrete items are indispensable or must be pursued — everything depends on the overall calculation of the deal. Interests are the highest guiding value; the past pursuits and values of the US and its leaders are thus irrelevant to him. Everything is approached from a standpoint of pragmatism, practical value and opportunistic calculation.

Trump shows no interest in grand narratives, abstract values, ideologies, moral norms, integrity or institutions, focusing solely on interests and transactions. His policy decisions are mostly short-term, narrow and limited, lacking strategic coherence and long-term planning.

Due to his rejection of previous mainstream values, visions and ideologies, his decisions and actions are arbitrary and pliable. Existing values are mostly discarded; Trump’s decisions and actions either reflect a replacement by new values or are devoid of values entirely. With such an extreme approach to governance, pushback in the future from those with traditional, resolute values is very likely.

Related: Trump’s impact: A world transformed? | The Trump administration: A bitter medicine for Europe?