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On the exact day Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government published an equally flamboyant national security strategy. This relatively brief report is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically humble claim that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the strategy mostly formalizes the current actions and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a grave caution for the world, and for the European continent in particular.

A Strategy of Interference and Cultural Fear

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its rhetoric seems taken straight from speeches 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." Even more worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the genuine and more stark possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is steeped in generations of European right-wing ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and causing conflict, suppression of free expression and suppression of dissent, cratering birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-belief." 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 economic power and militaries strong enough to be dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

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

Foundational Theories of the Far Right

These points carry powerful overtones of two concepts seen as core 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 attack the "perversion" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "indigenous" populations and import a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "America urges its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of spirit, and the increasing clout of patriotic European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US contends that it is key to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the sole movement that can achieve this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "fostering resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "aligned countries that want to restore their past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains unclear on methods, it is obvious 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 normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document calls it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not regard Russia as an adversary either.

An Ideological 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 "Americas," which he declared to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "implement a Trump corollary" 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 speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is laid out in an formal document, European leaders will finally understand that the stance is serious. And if the document is too lengthy or imprecise for them, it can be summarised in plain and concise terms: the current US government believes that its national security is best served by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not only an reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to act accordingly.