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On the exact day Donald Trump received a custom-made "peace prize" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government published an similarly ostentatious national security strategy. This relatively brief paper drips 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 edge of disaster and ruin."

Even though the document mostly formalizes the ongoing actions and statements of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a serious warning for the world, and for the European continent in particular.

A Blueprint of Intervention and Cultural Anxiety

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its rhetoric could have been lifted straight from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to reclaim its cultural self-confidence." More ominously, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the real and starker prospect of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with generations of European far-right ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing 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 "present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economic power and armed forces powerful enough to remain reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

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

Foundational Theories of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong echoes of two concepts regarded as core for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument on the inevitable fall of civilizations was employed by the German far right to criticise the "perversion" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "native" populations and import a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream contained in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "America urges its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of spirit, and the growing clout of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, the US believes that it is essential to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the only movement that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating opposition to Europe’s present path within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "building up the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "nations in agreement that want to reclaim their past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on implementation, it is apparent that a key aim is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – especially regarding right-wing 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 explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly 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 declared to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – recall 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 formal document, European leaders will finally understand that the stance is grave. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be summarised in clear and succinct terms: the current US government holds that its national security is best served by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not just an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to respond appropriately.