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On the exact day Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government published an similarly flamboyant national security strategy. This fairly brief paper drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest claim that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the document mostly codifies the current actions and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a serious caution for the world, and for Europe specifically.

A Blueprint of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its rhetoric seems lifted straight from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." More ominously, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the genuine and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure."

The entire section on Europe is imbued with generations of European right-wing dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and creating strife, censorship of free speech and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-confidence." 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 some European countries will have economic power and armed forces strong enough to be reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Foundational Theories of the Far Right

These arguments carry powerful overtones of two concepts seen as core for modern 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 "Le Grand Remplacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace restive "indigenous" populations and bring in a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "The United States urges its political allies in Europe to advance this resurgence of spirit, and the increasing influence of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US contends that it is key to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the sole movement that can achieve this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "building up the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "nations in agreement that want to restore their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains vague 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 far-right speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalize 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 evidently does not treat Russia as an enemy 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 cautioned European powers not to meddle in the "western hemisphere," which he proclaimed to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document vows 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.

None of this is necessarily new – recall 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 finally understand that the stance is serious. And if the document is too lengthy or vague for them, it can be condensed in plain and concise terms: the current US government believes that its national security is most enhanced by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not just an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to respond appropriately.