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On the exact date Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government published an similarly flamboyant security policy document. This fairly brief paper is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically modest claim that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the document mostly formalizes the current actions and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a serious caution for the world, 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 greatness." Its language could have been taken straight from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to reclaim its cultural self-confidence." Even more ominously, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the real and starker possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is steeped in decades of European right-wing dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and creating strife, censorship of free expression and stifling of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-confidence." According to 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 be dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion genuine democracy, free speech, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Core Ideas of the Far Right

These points carry powerful overtones of two theories regarded as foundational for modern far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was employed by the German far right to attack the "perversion" 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 "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "native" populations and import a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it sees its allies: "America urges its political allies in Europe to promote this resurgence of spirit, and the increasing clout of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, the US believes that it is essential to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the only political force that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating resistance 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 "aligned countries that want to reclaim their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on methods, it is apparent that a priority is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – particularly 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 explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, 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 meddle in the "Americas," 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 protect US national interests.

This is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an official document, European leaders will at last realize that the situation is grave. 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 best served by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not just an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to act accordingly.