The US is currently engaged in a counterinsurgency campaign against ISIS in Mosul city, Iraq. US officials and western media however castigated Syria and Russia for a very similar campaign in eastern Aleppo which drove out the insurgents who were dominated by al-Qaeda and supported by CIA-backed rebels. As I explained here, the primary goal of this propaganda campaign was to stop the Syrian army from defeating the opposition and taking east Aleppo, and failing that, to brand Syria and Russia as war criminals for having defeated the US-backed opposition in a strategically important city. This also served to direct attention away from inconveniences to US imperialism, such as their reliance on an opposition dominated by al-Qaeda and the brutal way they had conquered and subjugated Aleppo's civilians.
It as well redirected the narrative so that the only option discussed to reduce the civilian suffering was to stop the Syrian army's offensive. Other, more practical options which would have disadvantaged western imperialism, like the evacuation of civilians or pressuring insurgent groups to stand down, were therefore conveniently not considered. Hidden from view was the fact that America had essentially supported al-Qaeda's policy of preventing civilians from fleeing and using them as human shields. By arguing that the civilians should be "allowed to stay in their homes" in an active warzone, they effectively endorsed the human shield policy and exploited the civilian suffering as this was advantageous and helped them to oppose the defeat of their insurgents. If the civilians had been evacuated, as had been proposed by Russia, there would have been nothing stopping the Syrian army from besieging the militants and western officials would not have been able to cry foul at their tactics. This is all part of a long history of the US and its allies opposing the separation of civilians from combatants as this would "be helping you [Syria and Russia] win."
Comment: America may not own itself, but the American people do not steer its direction anyway. The U.S. empire is far beyond the powers of any sitting president, and its interests have little to do with a nation-state. This modern empire thrives on the destruction and subjugation of other nations and Trump cannot change that. He may do some positive things, and he may even try to work on some fundamental changes. But America's course is strongly set and the outcome will not be pretty.