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On the very date Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "award for peace" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an similarly flamboyant national security strategy. This relatively short paper drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically modest claim that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of disaster and ruin."

Even though the document mostly codifies the current actions and statements of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a grave warning for the international community, and for Europe in particular.

A Blueprint of Interference and Cultural Fear

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its language could have been lifted directly from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its cultural self-confidence." More worryingly, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure."

The whole section dedicated to 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 conflict, censorship of free speech and stifling of dissent, cratering birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-belief." According to the document, if "present trends 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 remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, free speech, and proud celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Core Theories of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry strong overtones of two concepts seen as core for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument on the cyclical decline of civilizations was used by the German far right to attack the "perversion" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "native" populations and import a more docile and reliant electorate.

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

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 "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "fostering resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "aligned countries that want to reclaim their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on implementation, it is obvious that a key aim is to push Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – especially regarding far-right speech – and not just on 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 explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

An Ideological 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 Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Articulated 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 safeguard US national interests.

None of this is necessarily new – consider JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will at last understand that the stance is serious. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be summarised in clear and succinct terms: the current US government holds that its national security is best served by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to respond accordingly.