Um, no, Minimus.
I can respect the office of the POTUS and not the person in it.
I recognize that Trump is currently the President of the United States, but that does not make him MY president. If that is truly what you believe, then you are confused about what it means to be an American.
As a teacher of US History, I have spent many years studying the foundations of our country, it's triumphs and failures, its strengths and its weaknesses. I am very familiar with the values and institutions upon which this society has been built and has grown—becoming what it currently is with all its beauty and its flaws.
It is my job to teach young minds to understand our history, its meaning and significance as they take their place in our society. It is my job to help them develop the necessary critical thinking skills to analyze complex situations and to make decisions, some which are often difficult and with no clear-cut or easy answers. It is my job to teach young adults to be willing to take a stand for what they believe in and to do so with all the necessary courage of their convictions that they may follow through and make a difference in the world. This is the only way that things ever change.
These things are my job, but they are more than that. Much, much more. I take great pride in the difference I make in the lives of my students as I teach them—not what to think, but—how to think!
The concepts of loyalty, sanctity and liberty are not mere words to me. They mean something. They mean everything. This country was founded by a small group of very brave souls that threw off the oppressive yoke of an abusive tyrant. Authority misused is authority that does not deserve to be recognized. That's what it means to me to be an American. That is our tradition. That is our birthright.
My loyalty is to the fundamental, sacred principles upon which this great nation was founded. No doubt you've heard of them. Chief among them are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These also are our birthright. They are inalienable. They cannot be taken away from us. But sometimes, we humans—in our foolishness—have given them away to undeserving ones.
To use your phrase, "It smacks of ignorance" to insist that a person should give blind obedience to a person in authority when that person is unworthy of the position and undeserving of respect.
Feel free to disagree, but don't tell me what or how to be. That would be un-American.
jp