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On the very date Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an equally ostentatious national security strategy. This relatively short report drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically modest assertion that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of disaster and disaster."

Even though the strategy largely codifies the current actions and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a serious caution for the international community, and for the European continent in particular.

A Strategy of Intervention and Cultural Fear

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its language seems lifted straight from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to regain its cultural self-assurance." More worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of cultural extinction."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is steeped in decades of European right-wing dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free expression and stifling of dissent, cratering birthrates, and loss 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 militaries strong enough to be dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Foundational Theories of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry powerful echoes of two concepts regarded as foundational for modern far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument 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 "Le Grand Remplacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "native" populations and bring in a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "The United States urges its political allies in Europe to advance this revival of national spirit, and the increasing clout of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US believes that it is key to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the sole political force that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating opposition to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to restore their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains vague on implementation, it is apparent that a key aim is to push Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – especially regarding far-right speech – and not limited to social media. Another is to normalise 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 evidently does not regard Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological Blueprint: 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 "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "implement a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

None of this is necessarily new – consider JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched 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 stance is grave. And if the document is too lengthy or imprecise for them, it can be summarised in plain and concise 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 act accordingly.