Trump's identity project
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Through immigration crackdowns and cultural purges, President Trump is wielding government power to enforce a more rigid, exclusionary definition of what it means to be American.
Why it matters: The MAGA movement's obsession with American identity and Western civilization is shaping federal policy far more than in Trump's first term — fueling a reckoning over who belongs and what history should be remembered.
In MAGA's telling, America is the heir to ancient European civilizations, built on a Judeo-Christian foundation of white identity, meritocracy, traditional gender roles and the nuclear family.
- These tenets are cast as universal truths — and mantras such as "America is an idea" or "diversity is our strength" are dismissed as liberal fictions.
Driving the news: That worldview is increasingly driving government policy.
1. Museums: In an extension of his sprawling DEI crackdown, Trump has ordered the Smithsonian Institution to revise exhibits the administration deems problematic in "tone, historical framing and alignment with American ideals."
- Trump argues there's been a "widespread effort to rewrite our Nation's history" by casting it as irredeemably racist or oppressive — including, he says, with an excessive focus on "how bad slavery was."
- A White House official said Trump intends to expand the review of "woke" ideology to other museums beyond the Smithsonian — an unprecedented level of oversight by a U.S. president.
2. Visa screenings: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced this past week it'll screen legal immigration applicants for "anti-American ideologies," including views expressed on social media.
- All 55 million current visa holders will face "continuous vetting" for "any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States."
- "America's benefits should not be given to those who despise the country," USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser said in a statement.
3. Citizenship criteria: USCIS is also expanding the "good moral character" requirement for citizenship applicants, tying the vague standard to an individual's "behavior, adherence to societal norms, and positive contributions."
- The Justice Department continues to pursue a ban on birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants — a right enshrined in the 14th Amendment — while prioritizing denaturalization for naturalized citizens who commit certain crimes.
- "I think we need to just graduate above this idea that just because you have your paperwork organized, you are an American," MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk said on his podcast Thursday. "You need to have your full spirit bought in."
Between the lines: Trump also has leaned into lower-hanging symbolic fights that reinforce MAGA's identity project.
- Language: He signed an executive order declaring English the official U.S. language — elevating it from a practical tool to a marker of identity and belonging.
- History: He restored Confederate names to U.S. military bases and ordered the return of certain Confederate monuments, condemning their removal as erasures of "heritage."
- Military: He reimposed the ban on transgender troops, aligning service with traditional gender norms.
- Refugees: He carved out exceptions for white South African farmers even as he slashed refugee admissions from elsewhere.
- Architecture: He ordered new federal buildings to adhere to "classical" styles, tying civic identity to Greco-Roman and European tradition.
What they're saying: Asked about the theme of this article, White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told us that for years, the left "demonized Americans for loving our country and celebrating American greatness. People grew sick of it, and President Trump was elected by an overwhelming majority of voters — not just the MAGA base — to put America First and restore American pride. That includes keeping terrorists and national security threats out of our country, replacing woke ideology with facts at our Smithsonian museums, promoting beautiful civic architecture, unifying our country with English as the official language, and more."
- Critics say Trump's project undercuts ideals America has long celebrated — as a refuge for immigrants, a land of opportunity for outsiders and a country that draws strength from its pluralism.
The bottom line: MAGA's utopia looks a lot like America in the 1950s — before the sexual revolution, mass immigration, the Civil Rights Act and expanded LGBTQ rights reshaped the country's culture and demographics.
- The movement has been clear about its ideal image of America for a decade, but it took Trump until his second term to prioritize making that vision a reality.
- "He's reclaiming America, he's reigniting America, and he's re-empowering those that actually love their country and believe it was a good thing that America existed," American Principles Project President Terry Schilling told Axios.
