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On the very date Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration released an equally flamboyant security policy document. This relatively short paper drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically modest 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 mostly formalizes the current actions and statements of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a grave warning for the international community, and for the European continent specifically.

A Blueprint of Intervention and Civilizational Anxiety

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its language could have been taken straight from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to regain its cultural self-confidence." Even more ominously, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the real and more stark possibility of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is steeped in generations of European right-wing dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and creating strife, censorship of free expression and suppression of dissent, cratering birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-confidence." According to the document, if "current trajectories 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 armed forces strong enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts 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 commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Core Ideas of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry strong echoes of two concepts seen as foundational for contemporary right-wing 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 criticise the "perversion" and "enfeeblement" 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 explicit conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "native" populations and import a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that gives 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: "The United States urges its ideological partners in Europe to promote this revival of national spirit, and the increasing influence of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Make Europe Great Again"

Put simply, the US believes that it is key to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the sole political force that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "building up the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "nations in agreement that want to reclaim their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on implementation, it is obvious that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – particularly regarding far-right speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases 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 enemy either.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy takes its inspiration less from the idealized US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to interfere in the "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "assert and enforce a Trump addition" 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 – consider JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is published in an official document, European leaders will at last realize that the situation is grave. And if the document is too lengthy or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in plain and succinct terms: the current US government believes 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. It is time to respond accordingly.