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On the very day Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government released an equally flamboyant security policy document. This relatively short paper drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically modest claim that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of disaster and ruin."

Even though the strategy largely codifies the ongoing actions and statements 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 Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its rhetoric could have been taken directly from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to regain its cultural self-confidence." More ominously, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with generations of European far-right dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free speech and stifling of dissent, cratering birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-confidence." According to the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognisable 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 dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and proud celebrations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Foundational Ideas of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong overtones of two theories seen as foundational 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 "The Great Replacement," 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 restive "indigenous" 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 authority, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "America urges its ideological partners in Europe to advance this resurgence of national spirit, and the growing clout of patriotic European parties in fact gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

Put simply, the US contends that it is essential to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the sole political force that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating resistance to Europe’s present path within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "building up the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "nations in agreement that want to restore their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains unclear on methods, it is obvious that a priority is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – especially regarding right-wing speech – and not limited to social media. Another is to normalize relations with Russia; or, as the document calls 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 broader sense, the national security strategy takes its inspiration 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 meddle in the "western hemisphere," which he proclaimed to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "assert and enforce a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is necessarily new – recall JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is published in an official document, European leaders will finally realize that the stance is serious. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in clear and concise terms: the current US government holds that its national security is most enhanced by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not just an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to respond appropriately.