Qe throughout his presidency, trump was often misperceived as being an opponent of the war on terror. Qe: Trump is serving up a purely civilizational explanation that will allow his supporters to feel good about what he's doing. The other faction is the former lions of the war On Terror who are there, or are understood to be there, to protect the country from trump. Most often, they win. While the fight continues, it gets exceptionally ugly.