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On the very day Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration released an similarly flamboyant national security strategy. This fairly brief paper is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest assertion that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the document mostly codifies the current actions and statements of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a serious caution for the international community, and for Europe specifically.

A Blueprint of Intervention and Civilizational Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its language seems taken directly from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its civilizational self-confidence." Even more worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the real and starker possibility of civilizational erasure."

The entire section dedicated to Europe is imbued with generations of European right-wing ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and creating strife, censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and loss 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 far from obvious whether some European countries will have economic power and armed forces powerful enough to remain reliable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to stand up for authentic democracy, free speech, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Core Ideas of the Far Right

These points carry strong echoes of two concepts seen as core for modern far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument 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," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "native" populations and import a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy 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 encourages its political allies in Europe to advance this revival of spirit, and the growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US contends that it is essential to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the sole movement that can achieve this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "fostering resistance to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "nations in agreement that want to restore their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains unclear on methods, it is obvious that a priority 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 just on 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 adversary either.

A Historical Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the glorified US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to interfere in the "western hemisphere," which he declared to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "assert and enforce a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is entirely new – consider JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will finally realize that the situation is serious. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in plain and succinct terms: the current US government holds that its national security is most enhanced by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to act appropriately.