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On the exact day Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an equally flamboyant national security strategy. This relatively brief report drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically modest claim that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the document mostly formalizes the current policies and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a serious caution for the international community, and for the European continent specifically.

A Strategy of Intervention and Cultural 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 lifted straight from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its cultural self-assurance." Even more ominously, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the real and more stark possibility of civilizational erasure."

The entire section dedicated to Europe is steeped in decades of European far-right dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, suppression of free speech and suppression of political opposition, plummeting 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 not at all clear whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries powerful enough to remain dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

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

Foundational Ideas of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong overtones of two concepts seen as foundational for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was employed by the German far right to criticise the "decadence" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" populations and bring in a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "The United States encourages its ideological partners in Europe to promote this resurgence of national spirit, and the increasing clout of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

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 "fostering resistance to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up 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 remains vague on implementation, it is obvious that a key aim is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – especially regarding right-wing speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalize 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 evidently does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological 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 Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to meddle in the "Americas," 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 involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched 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 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 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 unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to act appropriately.