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On the very day Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government published an equally flamboyant security policy document. This relatively brief report is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest claim that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the strategy largely codifies the current policies and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a serious warning for the international community, and for Europe in particular.

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its rhetoric seems taken straight from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to reclaim its cultural self-confidence." More worryingly, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the genuine and starker prospect of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is steeped in decades of European far-right dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free expression and stifling of dissent, cratering birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-belief." According to the document, if "current trajectories 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 be dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, free speech, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Foundational Theories of the Far Right

These arguments carry powerful overtones of two concepts regarded as core for modern far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument on the cyclical decline 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," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "native" 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 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 promote this revival of national spirit, and the increasing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Make Europe Great Again"

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 political force that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "fostering opposition to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to reclaim their past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains unclear on methods, it is apparent 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 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.

A Historical Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy draws its ideas 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 meddle in the "western hemisphere," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. 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 safeguard US national interests.

This is necessarily new – consider 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 published in an formal document, European leaders will at last realize that the stance is grave. And if the document is too lengthy or vague for them, it can be summarised in clear and succinct terms: the current US government holds that its national security is most enhanced by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to respond accordingly.