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On the very date Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government published an equally ostentatious security policy document. This fairly short report is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically humble claim that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of disaster and ruin."

Even though the strategy mostly codifies the ongoing policies and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a grave warning for the world, and for Europe in particular.

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Fear

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its language could have been taken directly from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to regain its cultural self-confidence." More worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the real and starker possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is steeped in decades of European far-right dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and causing strife, suppression of free expression and stifling of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-confidence." According to the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economic power and militaries strong enough to be reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to stand up for authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and proud celebrations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Core Theories of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry strong echoes of two theories regarded as core for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the inevitable fall of civilizations was employed by the German far right to attack the "decadence" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "indigenous" populations and bring in a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is evident where it sees its allies: "The United States urges its political allies in Europe to promote this resurgence of spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, the US contends that it is key to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the only movement that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to restore their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on implementation, it is obvious that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – particularly regarding far-right speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy takes its inspiration less from the idealized US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to interfere in the "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is laid out in an official document, European leaders will at last realize that the stance is serious. And if the document is too lengthy or vague for them, it can be condensed in clear and concise terms: the current US government holds that its national security is most enhanced by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not only an reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to respond accordingly.