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On the exact day Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "peace prize" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government released an equally ostentatious national security strategy. This fairly brief paper drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically humble claim that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of disaster and disaster."

Even though the document mostly codifies the current actions and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a grave caution for the international community, and for Europe in particular.

A Blueprint of Interference and Cultural Anxiety

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language seems taken straight from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to regain its cultural self-assurance." More ominously, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the real and more stark possibility of cultural extinction."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is steeped in decades of European far-right dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and causing strife, censorship of free expression and suppression of dissent, cratering birthrates, and loss 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 far from obvious whether some European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to remain reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion genuine democracy, free speech, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Core Ideas of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry powerful echoes of two concepts regarded as core for modern right-wing 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 criticise the "decadence" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "native" populations and bring in a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "The United States urges its political allies in Europe to advance this resurgence of spirit, and the increasing influence of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, 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 accomplish this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "nations in agreement that want to reclaim their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on methods, it is apparent that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – especially regarding right-wing speech – and not limited to 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 clearly does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological Blueprint: 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 1823 policy of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this warned 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 promises to "assert and enforce a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect 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 official document, European leaders will finally realize that the situation is grave. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be summarised in clear and succinct 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 unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to act appropriately.