A very different shade of American exceptionalism in the Donald Trump era is the focus of this chapter. Exceptionalism in Trump’s first presidential term (2017–2021), and his second term beginning in January 2025, is analyzed. Under the spotlight are his tactics, how he built the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, and took control of the Republican Party. The effect was politically and socially polarizing. The chapter explains how American exceptionalism under Trump took the form of a highly centralized and authoritarian style. Governance was by the president’s executive orders. All decisions were taken and implemented in his name while Congress, with a Republican majority, abandoned its authority to legislate, and the Supreme Court was generally compliant. Trump’s domestic and foreign policy decisions on tariffs and the use of military force—most notably the January 3, 2026, operation to capture President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela to stand trial in the United States—come under scrutiny. President Trump saw himself as king—a far cry from the age in which the 13 North American colonies broke away from the British monarchy and the United States was founded as a republic in the late eighteenth century.