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On the exact day Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "peace prize" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an similarly flamboyant national security strategy. This fairly short paper is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically modest claim that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of disaster and disaster."

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

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language seems taken directly from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to regain its cultural self-confidence." Even more worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the real and starker prospect of civilizational erasure."

The entire section on Europe is steeped in generations of European far-right dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and creating conflict, suppression of free speech and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-confidence." Per the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and armed forces strong enough to be reliable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and proud commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and past."

Core Ideas of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry powerful overtones of two theories regarded as core for contemporary right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," 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," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "native" populations and import a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "America encourages its ideological partners in Europe to promote this revival of national spirit, and the growing clout of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US believes that it is key 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" focuses on "fostering 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 reclaim their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on methods, it is obvious that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – particularly regarding right-wing speech – and not limited to 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 directly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

A Historical Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the idealized 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 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 "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

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 perhaps now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will finally realize that the situation is grave. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be summarised in plain 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 deliberate adversary. Now is time to act appropriately.