When the colonists came to America, they had an “isolation bias” (a desire to stand alone, or separated, or free of entanglements). Their attitude was “go away and leave us alone.” A strong lean in that direction has continued in a large segment of our population and still has a significant impact on our domestic and foreign policy attitudes.
On the domestic side, the bias has taken hold of our political parties and become extremely divisive. Republicans nominated Donald Trump as their candidate for president because they wanted someone who would be friendly to businesses and the wealthy. They got what they wanted (a tax cut primarily for the wealthy).
On foreign policy, GOP expectations were less clear but probably more isolationist with fewer foreign responsibilities. Trump is not isolationist on business matters and likes Russia and Saudi Arabia, but he is negative about NATO, the United Nations and just about everybody else.
Trump’s business and personal model dictate his attitudes and actions since he does not have a governance model or a clear vision for the nation.
As president, he regards himself as CEO of “America Inc.” A CEO can do anything he or she wants, subject only to the constraints of the law, a board of directors and shareholders. For the Trump America Inc. business model, those are the Supreme Court, Congress and voters, respectively. If any or all of the above constraints are inactive or ineffective, he can become a dictator. And so he has.