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On the very day Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "award for peace" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an equally ostentatious national security strategy. This relatively short paper is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically modest claim that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of disaster and disaster."

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

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its rhetoric seems lifted straight from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." Even more worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and starker possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is imbued with generations of European far-right dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and causing strife, censorship of free expression and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-belief." Per 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 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 predominantly non-European."

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

Foundational Theories of the Far Right

These points carry powerful echoes of two theories seen as foundational for modern far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose argument on the cyclical decline of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise the "decadence" 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 conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "native" populations and import a more submissive and reliant 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 implies. And it is evident where it sees its allies: "America urges its ideological partners in Europe to advance this resurgence of national spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US believes that it is key to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the sole movement that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "nations in agreement that want to restore their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains unclear on implementation, it is obvious that a key aim is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – especially regarding right-wing speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not regard Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the glorified US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to meddle in the "Americas," which he declared to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "assert and enforce a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s speech 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 understand that the stance is serious. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be condensed in clear 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 just an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to act appropriately.