Victory and Values: Why Donald Trump’s View of World War II is Dangerous and Distorts America's Legacy
On May 8, 1945, the world took a collective breath. After six long years of fighting in Europe, Allied forces—led in large part by the United States—achieved what many thought impossible: the defeat of Nazi Germany. Victory in Europe Day, or VE Day, became not only a marker of military success but a symbol of the triumph of freedom over fascism and hope over hate. The international community marked the birth of a new world order—one grounded not in domination, but in the idea that certain values were worth defending at all costs.
Sadly, eighty years later, that legacy is being undermined—not by an external threat, but by our own president. On May 7, 2025, Donald Trump announced his signing of a proclamation designating May 8 as “Victory Day” in honor of “America’s triumph” in World War II.
On its face, the announcement might seem patriotic. But the language surrounding the announcement reveals a deeper, more troubling vision of history, one in which power replaces principle, and the meaning of victory is reduced to dominance rather than values.
David Frum, former presidential speechwriter and longtime conservative commentator, responded sharply to Trump’s proclamation. Speaking yesterday on his podcast, The David Frum Show, he did not mince words. “When Donald Trump talks about American military history,” Frum said, “he emphasizes power and success and triumph and military genius, but always lacking is any mention of the values for which Americans fought.”
Frum’s criticism goes to the heart of what makes Trump's rhetoric not only wrong but dangerous. It reflects a complete inversion of the very ideals that made America's role in World War II both morally defensible and globally transformative.
The Trumpian Narrative: Power for Its Own Sake
Donald Trump has long framed America's role in the world through a lens of self-interest, domination, and transactionalism. His “Victory Day” proclamation follows this pattern. Trump’s version of the war is not about resisting fascism or liberating Europe; it’s about America “winning,” a simplistic, almost childlike version of history where might makes right, and to the victors go the spoils.
This framing strips WWII of its moral content. It minimizes the sacrifice of over 400,000 American lives by treating them as a justified cost of asserting national dominance. Furthermore, it ignores the critical truth that America’s greatest moments have come not from asserting power, but from rising above it—from choosing principle over expediency and cooperation over conquest.
Trump’s approach mirrors the isolationist and nationalist impulses that plagued the interwar years and the mistakes that permitted fascism to rise in the first place. His vision of America is one that turns inward, withdraws from alliances, erects trade barriers, and dismisses international institutions that were deliberately built to prevent more world war.
David Frum’s Counterpoint: Victory with Purpose
David Frum’s response serves as an important corrective. He reminds us that America did not fight World War II to become, in his words, “top nation,” but to defend a set of ideals: democracy, liberty, pluralism, and the rule of law. “One of the measures of how precious those values were,” says Frum, “is the world that has grown up as a result of the war.”
That world—the postwar international order—did not happen by accident. It was the product of intentional leadership by the United States and its allies. America helped rebuild Europe through the Marshall Plan, constructed institutions like the United Nations and NATO, and championed a vision of global cooperation that made it a beacon to others—not because it was feared, but because it was admired and trusted.
These efforts were not without flaws. America has made some serious foreign policy blunders. Not every use of power has been principled. But what Frum rightly emphasizes is the aspiration—the idea that America’s strength is justified only because it serves something greater than itself.
Trump’s vision of America threatens to undo that legacy. In place of internationalism, he promotes isolation. In place of principle, he champions power. In place of humility, he offers grievance and pride. What would today’s world look like had a “Trump-like” individual been president in the late 1940s and 1950s instead of Presidents Truman and Eisenhour?
These are not abstract concerns. We live in a world increasingly defined by authoritarian resurgence, democratic backsliding, and geopolitical instability. The values that guided the Allied effort in WWII—mutual understanding, cooperation, commitment to shared ideals—are not luxuries. They are necessities.
When a U.S. president repackages the story of WWII as a simple tale of American supremacy, he fails to comprehend the complexity of that conflict and disrespects the men and women who died believing they were part of something noble and just. Worse, perhaps, he emboldens those who see history as nothing more than a battleground for cultural and political dominance.
Remember Why We Fought
VE Day is a not a time to remember a victory—it is a reminder of why we fought. Trump’s dangerous narrative robs that victory of its moral force. It teaches us to admire the firepower without understanding the fire and to cheer the outcome while forgetting the cost.
America did not prevail in World War II simply because it was strong. It prevailed because it chose to fight for a world where freedom, not fear, would determine the course of history. To honor that legacy, We, the People, must reject the shallow, self-serving revisionism of those who see America only through the lens of power. We must reclaim the deeper truth of our past: that our greatest victories have come not when we sought to dominate the world, but when chose to work to make it better.
Mark M. Bello is an attorney and author of 9 Zachary Blake Legal Thriller Series and other legal themed novels and children’s books. For more information, please visit his website as https://www.markmbello.com.
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