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On the exact day Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "award for peace" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration released an similarly flamboyant security policy document. This fairly brief report drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically humble claim that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of disaster and disaster."

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

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its rhetoric seems taken directly from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to regain its cultural self-confidence." Even more ominously, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the real and starker possibility of cultural extinction."

The entire section on Europe is steeped in decades of European far-right ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and creating conflict, suppression of free expression and stifling of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and loss 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 not at all clear whether some European countries will have economies and militaries powerful enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion genuine democracy, free speech, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Core Theories of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry strong echoes of two theories seen as core for modern far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was employed 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 transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "indigenous" populations and import a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "The United States encourages its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of spirit, and the growing influence of patriotic European parties in fact gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Make Europe Great Again"

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 political force that can achieve this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "fostering 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 "nations in agreement that want to reclaim their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains 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 – particularly regarding far-right speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalize relations with Russia; or, as the document calls 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.

An Ideological Precedent: 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 "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "assert and enforce a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is necessarily new – consider JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is laid out in an official 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 summarised in plain 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 only an reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to act accordingly.