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On the exact date Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government published an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This fairly brief report is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically humble claim that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of disaster and disaster."

Even though the strategy mostly codifies the ongoing actions and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a grave warning for the world, and for the European continent specifically.

A Blueprint of Interference and Cultural Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its rhetoric seems lifted directly from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to reclaim its cultural self-assurance." More ominously, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the real and more stark possibility of civilizational erasure."

The entire section on Europe is imbued with decades of European far-right dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-confidence." According to 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 remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Foundational Ideas of the Far Right

These arguments carry strong overtones of two concepts seen as core for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument on the inevitable fall of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise 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, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "indigenous" populations and import a more submissive 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 intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "The United States urges its ideological partners in Europe to advance this resurgence of spirit, and the increasing clout of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US believes that it is essential to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the sole movement that can achieve this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to restore their past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on methods, it is obvious that a priority 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 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 clearly does not regard 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 idealized 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 "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "assert and enforce a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s speech 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 formal document, European leaders will at last realize that the stance is grave. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be condensed 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 only an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to act appropriately.