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On the very date Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "award for peace" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This fairly short report is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically humble claim that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the strategy mostly formalizes the current policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a serious warning for the international community, and for the European continent specifically.

A Strategy of Intervention and Civilizational Anxiety

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its language could have been taken directly from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to reclaim its civilizational self-confidence." More ominously, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the real and starker possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is imbued with decades of European right-wing dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and creating strife, suppression of free expression and suppression of dissent, cratering birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-belief." 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." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion authentic democracy, free speech, and proud commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Foundational Ideas of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry powerful echoes of two concepts seen as foundational for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise the "decadence" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "indigenous" populations and import a more docile and reliant electorate.

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

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US believes 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 achieve this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "fostering resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "aligned countries that want to restore their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on implementation, it is apparent that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – particularly regarding right-wing speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalize relations with Russia; or, as the document calls it, to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy takes its inspiration less from the glorified US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this warned 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 vows to "implement a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

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