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On the very date Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "peace prize" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration published an equally flamboyant national security strategy. This relatively short report drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically modest claim that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the document largely formalizes the current policies and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a serious caution for the international community, and for Europe in particular.

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Fear

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its rhetoric seems lifted straight from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its cultural self-assurance." More ominously, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and more stark prospect of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is steeped in decades of European right-wing dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, suppression of free expression and stifling of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-belief." 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 economic power and militaries strong enough to be dependable allies." Indeed, 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 genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and proud commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Foundational Theories of the Far Right

These arguments carry powerful overtones of two theories regarded as core for modern far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose argument on the cyclical decline 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 transformed long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "indigenous" populations and import a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream encapsulated 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 clear where it identifies its allies: "The United States encourages its ideological partners in Europe to promote this revival of national spirit, and the increasing influence of patriotic European parties in fact gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, the US believes that it is essential to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the sole political force that can achieve this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "aligned countries that want to reclaim their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on methods, it is obvious that a key aim is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – especially regarding right-wing speech – and not just on 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 regard Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical 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 1823 policy of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to interfere in the "Americas," which he declared 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 "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

None of this is entirely 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 maybe now that it is laid out in an official document, European leaders will at last realize that the stance is serious. And if the document is too lengthy or vague for them, it can be condensed in plain and succinct terms: the current US government holds that its national security is most enhanced by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not just an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to respond appropriately.