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On the very day Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "award for peace" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration released an equally flamboyant security policy document. This fairly brief paper is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically humble assertion that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the strategy largely formalizes the ongoing actions and statements of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a serious caution for the world, and for Europe specifically.

A Strategy of Interference and Cultural Fear

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its rhetoric could have been taken directly from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to regain its civilizational self-confidence." Even more ominously, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of cultural extinction."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is steeped in decades of European right-wing ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, suppression of free speech and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and erosion 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 certain European countries will have economic power and militaries strong enough to be dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion authentic democracy, free speech, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and past."

Foundational Ideas of the Far Right

These points carry powerful overtones of two theories regarded as core for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise the "decadence" and "enfeeblement" 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 overt conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "indigenous" populations and bring in a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream contained in both ideas that gives 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 political allies in Europe to promote this revival of national spirit, and the increasing influence of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "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 political force that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "fostering resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "nations in agreement that want to reclaim their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on methods, it is apparent 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 normalize relations with Russia; or, as the document calls it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

An Ideological Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the glorified US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to interfere in the "western hemisphere," 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 entails the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

This is necessarily new – recall JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will at last realize that the situation is grave. And if the document is too lengthy or imprecise for them, it can be summarised in clear and succinct 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 unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to act accordingly.