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

Even though the strategy largely formalizes the current policies and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a serious warning for the international community, and for the European continent specifically.

A Strategy of Intervention and Civilizational Fear

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its rhetoric could have been lifted directly from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to regain its civilizational self-assurance." More worryingly, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the real and more stark possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section on Europe is steeped in generations of European right-wing dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and creating conflict, suppression of free expression and stifling of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-belief." According to the document, if "current trajectories 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 reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to stand up for authentic democracy, free speech, and proud celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Foundational Theories of the Far Right

These arguments carry powerful echoes of two concepts regarded as core for contemporary right-wing 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 attack the "perversion" 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 explicit conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "native" populations and import a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "America urges its political allies in Europe to promote this resurgence of national spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US contends that it is essential to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the only movement that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "building up the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to restore their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains vague on methods, 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 – particularly regarding far-right speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases it, to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

A Historical Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy takes its inspiration less from the idealized US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to interfere in the "western hemisphere," which he proclaimed 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 safeguard US national interests.

This is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s address 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 formal document, European leaders will finally realize that the situation is serious. And if the document is too long or imprecise 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 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 respond appropriately.