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On the very date Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "award for peace" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government published an similarly flamboyant security policy document. This fairly brief paper is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically modest assertion that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of disaster and ruin."

Even though the strategy largely formalizes the ongoing policies and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a grave 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 explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its language seems lifted straight from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." Even more worryingly, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the real and more stark possibility of cultural extinction."

The entire section on Europe is imbued with generations of European right-wing dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free speech 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 unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether some European countries will have economic power and militaries powerful enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

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

Foundational Ideas of the Far Right

These arguments carry powerful overtones of two concepts seen as foundational for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the inevitable fall of civilizations was used by the German far right to attack the "perversion" and "weakness" 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, accusing European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "indigenous" populations and import a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it sees its allies: "America urges its political allies in Europe to promote this resurgence of national spirit, and the growing influence of patriotic European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, the US believes that it is key to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the sole movement that can achieve this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating opposition to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "nations in agreement that want to restore their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on implementation, it is apparent that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – especially regarding right-wing speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalize relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly 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 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 "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s sphere of interest. 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 protect US national interests.

This is necessarily new – recall 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 laid out in an formal document, European leaders will finally understand that the stance is grave. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in plain and concise terms: the current US government holds that its national security is best served by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to respond accordingly.