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On the exact day Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration published an similarly flamboyant national security strategy. This fairly short report is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest claim that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of disaster and ruin."

Even though the strategy largely formalizes the current policies and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a grave caution for the international community, and for Europe specifically.

A Blueprint of Intervention and Cultural Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its rhetoric could have been taken directly from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to regain its cultural self-confidence." More worryingly, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the genuine and starker possibility of civilizational erasure."

The entire section on Europe is steeped in generations of European right-wing dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and causing conflict, suppression of free expression and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-confidence." Per the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to remain dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades 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 commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Core Ideas of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong echoes of two concepts regarded as core for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument on the cyclical decline of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise the "decadence" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" populations and bring in a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy 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 advance this revival of spirit, and the growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US contends that it is key 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 "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "fostering opposition to Europe’s present path within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening 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 remains vague on methods, it is apparent that a priority is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – particularly regarding right-wing speech – and not limited to 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 treat Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy takes its inspiration 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 sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is necessarily new – consider JD Vance’s address 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 official document, European leaders will at last realize that the stance is serious. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be summarised in plain and succinct terms: the current US government holds that its national security is most enhanced by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to respond accordingly.