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On the very date Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "peace prize" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration published an equally flamboyant security policy document. This fairly short paper drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest assertion that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the strategy mostly formalizes the current actions and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a serious caution for the international community, and for the European continent in particular.

A Strategy of Intervention and Cultural Anxiety

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its language seems taken straight from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to regain its civilizational self-assurance." Even more ominously, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the genuine and starker prospect of cultural extinction."

The entire section on Europe is steeped in decades of European far-right 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 political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-confidence." Per the document, if "present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether certain European countries will have economies and armed forces powerful enough to remain reliable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

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

Foundational Theories of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry strong echoes of two theories seen as core for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose thesis on the inevitable fall of civilizations was used 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 conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "native" populations and import a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "The United States urges its ideological partners in Europe to promote this resurgence of national spirit, and the increasing clout of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Make Europe Great Again"

Put simply, the US believes 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 achieve this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "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" – in particular "nations in agreement that want to reclaim their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains unclear 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 – especially regarding far-right speech – and not limited to 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.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, 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 "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 "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will finally understand that the situation is grave. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be summarised in clear and concise 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 just an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to act accordingly.