I think that is mostly correct (I am far from an expert on geopolitics). This feels a bit different because it is not just USSR trying to set up a puppet government in some global outpost (and us reacting by trying to set up our own puppet government). Rather, this is Russia violating the sovereign territory of a young democracy. Admittedly, it has been a troubled democracy in its relatively short history (self-governing is messy), but that still seems like the sort of thing the democratic west needs to respond to. And like it or not, the US is (was) the leader of the democratic west.
I don't think this is a situation where Trump just doesn't think involvement in the conflict is worth our time. He pretty clearly feels more aligned with powerful autocrats than with typical liberal democracy. There are many who believe that liberal democracy, and our willingness to fight for that ideal, is truly central to who we are as a country (right along with personal liberty and capitalism). Trump does not think that.
@Fryowa pointed out awhile back that the experiment that is the USA was never going to last forever. Empires come and go, though they seem permanent within the short expanse of history that we each live within. Maybe this is the beginning of the end. Or maybe Trump overplays his hand, everyone gets pissed off because things seem to be getting worse, and the pendulum swings once again in 2028.