We never had an empire. When we took most of Europe from the Germans, we gave it back. When we took a lot of the far east from Japan, we gave it back. That is NOT empire building!
320 million people trying to live in a defunct republic = empire.
JimRed: "We never had an empire."
President Washington referred to the original 13 united states as "our empire" and New York City as the "seat of empire", hence our term "Empire State".
So, "empire" defined loosely in a metaphorical sense.
Regardless, Americans elected President Trump precisely to prevent such an eventuality, and I'm 100% certain he can do that.