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On the exact date Donald Trump received a custom-made "peace prize" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government released an similarly flamboyant national security strategy. This fairly short paper drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically humble assertion that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of disaster and ruin."

Even though the strategy largely formalizes the current policies and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a grave caution for the world, and for the European continent in particular.

A Strategy of Intervention and Civilizational Anxiety

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its rhetoric seems lifted directly from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." Even more worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and more stark prospect of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with generations of European right-wing ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and causing strife, censorship of free speech and suppression of dissent, cratering birthrates, and erosion of national identities 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 not at all clear whether some European countries will have economic power and armed forces strong enough to be reliable allies." Indeed, 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 history."

Core Theories of the Far Right

These arguments carry strong echoes of two concepts regarded as core for contemporary right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise 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 "native" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "native" populations and bring in a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream contained in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "America encourages its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of national 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 sole political force that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "aligned countries that want to reclaim their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on methods, it is apparent that a priority is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to 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 explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not regard Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical 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 "western hemisphere," which he declared to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "implement a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is necessarily new – consider 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 formal 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 summarised in plain and succinct terms: the current US government holds that its national security is most enhanced by the demise 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 appropriately.