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On the exact date Donald Trump received a tailor-made "peace prize" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an equally ostentatious national security strategy. This fairly short paper drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically modest assertion that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of disaster and disaster."

Even though the strategy largely codifies the current actions and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a serious caution for the world, and for the European continent specifically.

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its rhetoric seems taken directly from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its cultural self-assurance." Even more worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and starker possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with decades of European right-wing dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and causing strife, suppression of free expression and stifling of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of national identities 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 far from obvious whether some European countries will have economic power and armed forces powerful enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Core Theories of the Far Right

These points carry strong echoes of two concepts seen as foundational for modern far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose argument on the inevitable fall of civilizations was employed by the German far right to criticise the "decadence" 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 "native" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "native" populations and bring in a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "America encourages its ideological partners in Europe to promote this resurgence of national spirit, and the increasing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

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 movement that can achieve this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "fostering opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "building up the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "nations in agreement that want to restore their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains vague on implementation, it is obvious that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – particularly regarding far-right speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases it, to "reestablish 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 Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the glorified US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to interfere in the "western hemisphere," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "assert and enforce a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is necessarily new – consider JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is laid out in an official document, European leaders will finally understand that the situation is serious. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be condensed in plain and concise terms: the current US government believes that its national security is most enhanced by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not only an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to act accordingly.