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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 "Gianni" Infantino, his government published an similarly flamboyant security policy document. This relatively short report is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest assertion that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of catastrophe and ruin."

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

A Strategy of Intervention and Cultural Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its language seems lifted directly from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to regain its cultural self-confidence." Even more ominously, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the genuine 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 causing strife, censorship of free speech and stifling of dissent, cratering birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-confidence." 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 certain European countries will have economies and armed forces powerful enough to remain reliable allies." Indeed, 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 stand up for authentic democracy, free speech, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Core Ideas of the Far Right

These points carry powerful echoes of two theories seen as core for contemporary right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument on the cyclical decline of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise the "decadence" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "indigenous" populations and import a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "America urges its ideological partners in Europe to promote this resurgence of spirit, and the increasing clout of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, 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 accomplish this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "building up the robust 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 unclear on implementation, it is obvious 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 normalize 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 clearly does not regard Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy takes its inspiration less from the idealized US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy of 1823. Proclaimed 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 addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is laid out in an formal document, European leaders will finally realize that the stance is serious. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be condensed in clear and succinct terms: the current US government believes that its national security is most enhanced by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not just an reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to respond appropriately.