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On the very date Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "peace prize" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government published an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This fairly brief report drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically modest assertion that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the strategy mostly codifies the current actions and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a grave caution for the international community, and for Europe specifically.

A Blueprint of Intervention and Cultural Fear

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language seems lifted straight from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to regain its cultural self-assurance." More worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the real and more stark possibility of cultural extinction."

The entire section dedicated to Europe is steeped in decades of European right-wing dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and causing strife, censorship of free expression and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-confidence." 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 some European countries will have economies and militaries powerful enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, 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 genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Core Theories of the Right-Wing

These points carry powerful echoes of two concepts seen as foundational for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose argument on the inevitable fall 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 translated long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "native" populations and bring in a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "America encourages its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of spirit, and the growing clout of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

Put simply, the US believes that it is essential to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the only movement that can achieve this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "fostering 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" – specifically "nations in agreement that want to restore their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on methods, it is apparent that a key aim is to push 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 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 adversary either.

A Historical Blueprint: 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 Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to interfere in the "western hemisphere," which he declared to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

This is entirely 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 maybe now that it is laid out in an official document, European leaders will finally understand that the situation 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 believes that its national security is most enhanced by the destruction 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 act accordingly.