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On the exact day Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration released an similarly ostentatious national security strategy. This relatively brief report drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically humble claim that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the document mostly formalizes the current actions and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a serious warning for the international community, and for Europe in particular.

A Blueprint of Intervention and Civilizational Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its rhetoric could have been taken directly from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to reclaim its cultural self-confidence." More worryingly, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with generations of European far-right ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and causing strife, censorship of free speech and stifling of dissent, cratering birthrates, and loss 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 strong enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and proud celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and past."

Core Ideas of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry strong overtones of two concepts regarded as foundational for contemporary right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument 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 transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" populations and import a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream contained in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "America encourages its political allies in Europe to advance this revival of spirit, and the increasing clout of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, 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 achieve this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "fostering resistance to Europe’s present path 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 past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on methods, it is obvious that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to 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 phrases it, to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not regard Russia as an enemy either.

A Historical 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 warned European powers not to meddle in the "western hemisphere," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "assert and enforce a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

This is entirely new – recall 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 formal document, European leaders will at last realize that the situation is serious. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be condensed in clear and concise terms: the current US government holds that its national security is best served by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not just an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to respond appropriately.