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On the very day Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This fairly brief report drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest claim that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of disaster and disaster."

Even though the strategy mostly codifies the ongoing actions and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a grave caution for the international community, and for Europe in particular.

A Blueprint of Intervention and Cultural Anxiety

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its language could have been taken straight from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to regain its civilizational self-confidence." Even more ominously, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and more stark possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is steeped in decades of European right-wing dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and causing strife, suppression of free speech and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-confidence." According to the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries powerful enough to be dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

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

Core Ideas of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry strong echoes of two concepts seen as core for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument on the inevitable fall of civilizations was employed by the German far right to attack the "decadence" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace restive "indigenous" populations and bring in a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "The United States encourages its political allies in Europe to promote this resurgence of spirit, and the increasing influence of patriotic European parties in fact gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US contends that it is essential to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the only political force that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "aligned countries that want to restore their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on implementation, it is obvious that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – especially regarding far-right speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalize relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases it, to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not regard Russia as an adversary either.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the glorified US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to meddle in the "western hemisphere," which he declared to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "recruiting" 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 launched an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will finally realize that the stance is grave. And if the document is too lengthy or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in clear and succinct terms: the current US government holds that its national security is best served by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not just an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to act appropriately.