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On the exact date Donald Trump received a custom-made "peace prize" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government published an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This relatively short report is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically humble assertion that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the strategy mostly formalizes the ongoing policies and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a serious warning for the world, and for Europe specifically.

A Strategy of Intervention and Civilizational Anxiety

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its rhetoric seems taken directly from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its cultural self-confidence." Even more worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the genuine and more stark possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is imbued with decades of European right-wing ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free expression 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 unrecognizable 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 asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to stand up for authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and past."

Core Theories of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry strong echoes of two concepts regarded as core for contemporary 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 "perversion" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "native" populations and bring in a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy contained in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "The United States encourages its political allies in Europe to promote this resurgence of national spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist 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 "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the only movement that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating opposition to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "nations in agreement that want to restore 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 – particularly 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 explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the idealized 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 "western hemisphere," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "assert and enforce 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 necessarily new – recall JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is laid out in an official document, European leaders will at last understand that the situation is serious. 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 best served by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to act accordingly.