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On the exact day Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government released an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This relatively brief report is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens 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 strategy 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 in particular.

A Strategy of Intervention and Civilizational Fear

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language seems lifted directly from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to regain its civilizational self-confidence." More worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and starker possibility of civilizational erasure."

The entire section on Europe is imbued with generations of European right-wing dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and creating strife, censorship of free expression and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-confidence." Per 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 armed forces strong enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes 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 genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and proud celebrations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Foundational Ideas of the Far Right

These points carry powerful echoes of two theories regarded as foundational for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the inevitable fall of civilizations was used 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 transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "native" populations and bring in a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it sees its allies: "America urges its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of national spirit, and the growing influence of patriotic European parties in fact gives cause for great optimism."

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 accomplish this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "aligned countries that want to reclaim their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on implementation, it is apparent that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – especially regarding far-right speech – and not just on 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 enemy either.

An Ideological Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy takes its inspiration less from the glorified US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to meddle in the "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – consider JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will finally realize that the situation is serious. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in plain and concise terms: the current US government believes 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 reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to respond accordingly.