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On the very date Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government published an equally flamboyant security policy document. This fairly short paper is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically humble claim that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the strategy mostly formalizes the ongoing actions and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a serious caution for the international community, and for Europe in particular.

A Strategy of Intervention and Cultural Anxiety

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its rhetoric could have been lifted directly from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its cultural self-assurance." Even more ominously, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and more stark prospect of cultural extinction."

The entire section on Europe is steeped in generations of European right-wing dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free expression and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-belief." Per the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economic power and militaries strong enough to be reliable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to stand up for authentic democracy, free speech, and proud commemorations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Foundational Theories of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong overtones of two concepts seen as foundational for contemporary right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument on the cyclical decline of civilizations was employed by the German far right to attack the "decadence" and "weakness" 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 replace restive "indigenous" populations and bring in a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream encapsulated 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 evident where it sees its allies: "The United States urges its political allies in Europe to advance this revival of spirit, and the growing clout of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "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 achieve this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as 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 stays unclear on methods, it is apparent that a priority is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – particularly 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 directly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical 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 1823 policy of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to interfere 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 addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is necessarily new – recall JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an ideological attack 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 stance is grave. And if the document is too lengthy or imprecise for them, it can be summarised in plain and succinct 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 just an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to act accordingly.