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On the exact day Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This fairly short report is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically humble 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 mostly formalizes the ongoing policies and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a grave caution for the world, and for Europe specifically.

A Blueprint of Interference and Civilizational Fear

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its language seems taken directly from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to reclaim its cultural self-assurance." More worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the real and starker possibility of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is steeped in generations of European right-wing dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and creating conflict, suppression of free speech and suppression of dissent, cratering birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-belief." According to the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to be dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

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

Foundational Ideas of the Right-Wing

These points carry powerful echoes of two concepts seen as foundational for modern far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the inevitable fall 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," released 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 rebellious "native" populations and bring in a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to interfere 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 resurgence of national spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "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 movement that can achieve this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "fostering resistance to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to restore their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on implementation, it is obvious that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – especially regarding far-right speech – and not limited to social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases it, to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, 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 cautioned 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 corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "recruiting" 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 maybe now that it is laid out in an official 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 concise terms: the current US government believes that its national security is most enhanced 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.