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On the exact day Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "peace prize" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration published an equally ostentatious national security strategy. This relatively brief report is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically humble assertion that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of disaster and ruin."

Even though the document largely formalizes the ongoing policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a grave warning for the international community, and for the European continent specifically.

A Strategy of Intervention and Civilizational Fear

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its language could have been taken straight from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to reclaim its cultural self-confidence." Even more ominously, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the genuine and more stark prospect of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with generations of European far-right dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free speech and stifling of dissent, cratering birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-confidence." Per the document, if "present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether certain European countries will have economies and armed forces powerful enough to remain reliable allies." Indeed, 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 authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and proud celebrations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Core Theories of the Far Right

These points carry strong echoes of two concepts regarded as core for modern far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the inevitable fall of civilizations was employed by the German far right to attack the "perversion" 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 "native" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "native" populations and import a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream encapsulated 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 clear where it sees its allies: "The United States encourages its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US believes that it is key to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the only movement that can achieve this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "fostering resistance to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "nations in agreement that want to reclaim their past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains vague on implementation, it is apparent that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – particularly regarding right-wing speech – and not limited to social media. Another is to normalize relations with Russia; or, as the document calls it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not treat 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. Articulated 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 vows to "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

This is necessarily new – recall JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an official document, European leaders will at last realize that the stance is grave. And if the document is too lengthy or vague for them, it can be summarised in plain and concise terms: the current US government believes that its national security is most enhanced by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to respond accordingly.