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On the very date Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "award for peace" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government published an equally flamboyant national security strategy. This relatively brief paper drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically humble assertion that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of disaster and ruin."

Even though the document mostly codifies the ongoing policies and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a grave warning for the world, and for Europe specifically.

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its rhetoric could have been lifted directly from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to regain its cultural self-assurance." Even more ominously, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure."

The entire section dedicated to Europe is steeped in generations of European far-right dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free speech and suppression 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 far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries powerful enough to be dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

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

Core Theories of the Far Right

These arguments carry strong echoes of two theories seen as core for contemporary right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose thesis on the cyclical decline 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," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "indigenous" populations and bring in a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream contained in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "America urges its ideological partners in Europe to advance this resurgence of national spirit, and the increasing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Make Europe Great Again"

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 political force that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating 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" – specifically "aligned countries that want to restore their past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on implementation, it is obvious that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with 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 calls it, to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

An Ideological Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy takes its inspiration less from the idealized US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to meddle in the "Americas," which he declared 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 involves the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is necessarily 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 perhaps now that it is laid out in an formal document, European leaders will at last understand that the situation is grave. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be condensed in plain and concise 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 reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to respond accordingly.