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On the very day Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This fairly short report drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically humble claim that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of disaster and ruin."

Even though the strategy largely formalizes the ongoing policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a grave warning for the world, and for Europe in particular.

A Strategy of Intervention and Cultural Fear

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its language could have been lifted straight from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its cultural self-assurance." More worryingly, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the real and starker possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with generations of European right-wing ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and causing strife, 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 unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether some European countries will have economies and armed forces strong enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and past."

Foundational Ideas of the Far Right

These points carry strong overtones of two theories regarded as core for contemporary right-wing 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 "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "native" populations and bring in a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "America encourages its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of spirit, and the growing clout of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, the US believes that it is key to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the only movement that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "nations in agreement that want to reclaim their past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains vague on implementation, it is obvious that a key aim 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 limited to social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical Blueprint: 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 1823 policy of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this warned 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 "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is necessarily 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 finally understand that the stance is grave. And if the document is too lengthy or vague for them, it can be summarised in clear and concise terms: the current US government believes that its national security is most enhanced by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not just an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to respond accordingly.