Final answer:
The US distrusted the Soviet Union due to their totalitarian government and ideological conflict, where the Soviets supported communism and opposed Western imperialism, thereby posing a threat to US interests and democratic values.
Step-by-step explanation:
One reason the United States distrusted the Soviet Union was the totalitarian government under Joseph Stalin, which made the US wary. Stalin's regime was characterized by the suppression of dissent, lack of political freedoms, and control over Eastern European nations. The Soviet Union's push to spread communism and its tendency to establish Soviet-backed governments in Eastern Europe following World War II exemplifies their ideological and strategic differences with the US, which advocated for democracy and capitalism. Additionally, the Soviets' support for revolutionary movements around the world in opposition to western imperialism positioned them as a significant threat to the US and its interests. This fundamental ideological divide between capitalism and communism, and the geopolitical moves by the Soviet Union to protect and spread its ideology, fueled the distrust that led to the Cold War.