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On the very date Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "peace prize" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration released an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This relatively brief report is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically humble assertion that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of disaster and disaster."

Even though the strategy largely codifies the current policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a serious warning for the international community, and for the European continent in particular.

A Strategy of Intervention and Civilizational Fear

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its rhetoric seems lifted straight from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to regain its cultural self-assurance." Even more worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the real and more stark possibility of cultural extinction."

The entire section dedicated to Europe is imbued with decades of European right-wing dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free speech and stifling of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-confidence." Per the document, if "present trends 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 powerful enough to remain dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion genuine democracy, free speech, and proud commemorations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Core Theories of the Far Right

These arguments carry powerful overtones of two theories regarded as core for modern far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose argument 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 "native" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "native" populations and bring in a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream contained in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "The United States urges its political allies in Europe to advance this revival of spirit, and the increasing clout of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, 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 movement that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "fostering resistance to Europe’s present path within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to reclaim their past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on implementation, it is apparent that a priority is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – especially regarding far-right speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document calls it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not regard Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological 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 Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to meddle in the "western hemisphere," which he declared to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "implement a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" 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 ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is laid out in an official document, European leaders will at last realize that the stance is grave. And if the document is too lengthy or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in clear and succinct 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 only an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to respond accordingly.