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On the exact date Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "peace prize" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an equally ostentatious security policy document. This relatively short report drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically humble assertion that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of disaster and ruin."

Even though the strategy largely codifies the ongoing policies and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a grave warning for the international community, and for the European continent specifically.

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its rhetoric could have been taken directly from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to regain its civilizational self-assurance." Even more worryingly, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the genuine and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with generations of European far-right dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and causing strife, censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition, plummeting 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 not at all clear whether some European countries will have economic power and militaries strong enough to be reliable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion authentic democracy, free speech, and proud commemorations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Core Ideas of the Far Right

These arguments carry strong echoes of two theories seen as foundational for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was employed by the German far right to criticise the "perversion" and "enfeeblement" 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 overt conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "indigenous" populations and bring in a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream contained 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: "The United States urges its ideological partners in Europe to promote this revival of spirit, and the increasing clout of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

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

While the document remains vague on implementation, it is obvious that a priority is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping 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 calls it, to "reestablish 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 Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, 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 interfere in the "Americas," which he declared to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "implement a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" 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 unleashed an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an official document, European leaders will finally 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 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 unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to act accordingly.