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On the very date Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "award for peace" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration published an similarly ostentatious national security strategy. This relatively brief paper is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically modest claim that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the document mostly codifies the current actions and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a grave warning for the world, and for Europe specifically.

A Strategy of Intervention and Cultural Anxiety

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its rhetoric seems lifted directly from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." Even more ominously, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the genuine and more stark prospect of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is steeped in decades of European right-wing dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and causing strife, suppression of free expression and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-confidence." Per the document, if "present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether certain European countries will have economies and armed forces powerful enough to be dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes 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 authentic democracy, free speech, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Core Ideas of the Far Right

These points carry powerful echoes of two theories seen as foundational for modern right-wing 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 criticise the "decadence" 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 "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "native" populations and bring in a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream contained in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "America encourages its ideological partners in Europe to advance this resurgence of spirit, and the growing clout of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US contends that it is essential to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the only political force that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory 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 vague on methods, it is obvious that a key aim is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – particularly regarding far-right speech – and not limited to social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document calls it, to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical Precedent: 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. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to meddle in the "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "assert and enforce a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is necessarily 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 perhaps now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will at last understand that the situation is grave. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be summarised in clear 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 just an reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to respond accordingly.