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On the exact day Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an similarly flamboyant national security strategy. This fairly brief paper is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically modest assertion that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of disaster and ruin."

Even though the strategy mostly formalizes the current policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a serious warning for the world, and for the European continent specifically.

A Blueprint of Interference and Cultural Fear

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language seems lifted straight from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to regain its cultural self-assurance." More ominously, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the genuine and starker possibility of cultural extinction."

The entire section dedicated to Europe is imbued with decades of European right-wing ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free expression and stifling of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-belief." According to 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 economies and armed forces powerful enough to be dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion authentic democracy, free speech, and proud celebrations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Foundational Theories of the Far Right

These arguments carry powerful echoes of two theories regarded as core for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was used by the German far right to attack the "perversion" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" populations and bring in a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "America urges its political allies in Europe to promote this resurgence of national spirit, and the increasing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US believes that it is essential to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the only political force that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating opposition to Europe’s present path within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to restore their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on methods, it is obvious that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – especially regarding right-wing speech – and not limited to 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 evidently does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical 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. Articulated by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to meddle in the "western hemisphere," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document vows 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.

This is entirely new – consider 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 published in an formal document, European leaders will at last realize that the stance is serious. And if the document is too lengthy or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in plain and concise terms: the current US government holds that its national security is best served 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. Now is time to respond accordingly.