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On the very date Donald Trump received a custom-made "peace prize" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an equally ostentatious security policy document. This fairly brief paper is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically humble assertion that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the strategy largely codifies the current policies and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a serious warning for the international community, and for Europe specifically.

A Strategy of Intervention and Civilizational Fear

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 taken straight from addresses 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-assurance." More worryingly, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the genuine and more stark possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with decades of European right-wing ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and creating conflict, suppression of free expression and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-belief." Per 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 powerful enough to be dependable allies." Indeed, 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 unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and past."

Core Theories of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry powerful overtones of two theories regarded as foundational for contemporary right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was employed by the German far right to attack the "decadence" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "indigenous" populations and import a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy encapsulated 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 evident where it identifies its allies: "The United States urges its political allies in Europe to promote this resurgence of national spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, the US contends 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 accomplish this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "fostering opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "nations in agreement that want to restore their past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains vague on methods, it is obvious that a priority is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – particularly regarding right-wing 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 directly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy takes its inspiration less from the glorified US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Proclaimed 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 addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" 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 ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is laid out in an formal document, European leaders will at last understand that the situation is grave. And if the document is too lengthy or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in clear and succinct terms: the current US government holds that its national security is best served by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not just an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to respond appropriately.