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On the exact date Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "peace prize" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government published an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This relatively short paper is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically humble claim that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the strategy largely codifies the current policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a grave caution for the international community, and for Europe specifically.

A Strategy of Intervention and Cultural Anxiety

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its language could have been lifted directly from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to reclaim its cultural self-assurance." Even more worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and starker prospect of civilizational erasure."

The entire section on Europe is steeped in generations of European right-wing ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free expression and suppression of dissent, plummeting 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 far from obvious whether some European countries will have economies and armed forces powerful enough to remain reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, free speech, and proud commemorations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Core Theories of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry powerful overtones of two concepts regarded as foundational for modern far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose thesis on the cyclical decline 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," released 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 import a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it sees its allies: "The United States urges its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of national spirit, and the growing clout of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US believes 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 achieve this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "building up the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to reclaim their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on methods, it is obvious that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – especially regarding right-wing speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document calls it, to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not regard Russia as an enemy either.

A Historical Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, 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 "western hemisphere," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "assert and enforce a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is necessarily new – consider JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is laid out in an official document, European leaders will finally understand that the situation is grave. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in clear and succinct terms: the current US government believes that its national security is best served by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not only an reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to respond appropriately.