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On the exact date Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration published an similarly ostentatious national security strategy. This relatively short report is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest assertion that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of disaster and ruin."

Even though the document largely codifies the ongoing actions and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a grave warning for the international community, and for the European continent specifically.

A Blueprint of Interference and Civilizational Fear

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its language seems taken straight from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to regain its cultural self-assurance." Even more worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the real and more stark prospect 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 blamed for "transforming the continent and causing strife, censorship of free speech and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and loss 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 far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and armed forces strong enough to remain dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion authentic democracy, free speech, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Foundational Theories of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry strong overtones of two concepts seen as core for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose thesis on the inevitable fall of civilizations was used by the German far right to attack the "decadence" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "native" populations and import a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream contained in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "America urges its political allies in Europe to promote this revival of national spirit, and the growing clout of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, 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 movement that can achieve this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to reclaim their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains unclear on methods, it is obvious that a priority is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – especially regarding right-wing speech – and not limited to social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases it, to "restore 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 broader sense, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the idealized US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this cautioned 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 vows to "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

This is necessarily new – consider JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is published in an official document, European leaders will finally understand that the situation is grave. 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 best served by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not just an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to respond accordingly.