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On the very day Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration released an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This fairly short paper is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically modest assertion that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of disaster and ruin."

Even though the strategy mostly codifies the ongoing actions and statements of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a serious caution for the world, and for the European continent specifically.

A Blueprint of Interference and Civilizational Fear

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its language could have been lifted directly from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to regain its civilizational self-confidence." Even more ominously, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the real and more stark prospect of cultural extinction."

The entire section dedicated to Europe is imbued with decades of European right-wing ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free speech and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-belief." Per 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 economies and militaries strong enough to be reliable allies." In fact, 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 champion genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Core Ideas of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry strong echoes of two theories seen as foundational for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the inevitable fall of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise the "perversion" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," 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 "indigenous" populations and bring in a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, 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 national spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, 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 accomplish this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "fostering resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "nations in agreement that want to restore their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on implementation, it is obvious that a key aim is to push 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 "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not regard Russia as an enemy either.

A Historical Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the idealized US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to interfere in the "Americas," which he declared to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "assert and enforce a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is laid out in an formal document, European leaders will finally realize that the stance is serious. And if the document is too long 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 only an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to act appropriately.