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On the exact day Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "award for peace" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration published an similarly ostentatious national security strategy. This relatively brief report drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically humble claim that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the document mostly codifies the current policies and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a serious warning for the world, and for the European continent in particular.

A Blueprint of Intervention and Civilizational Anxiety

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language seems lifted straight from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." More worryingly, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the genuine and starker possibility of civilizational erasure."

The entire section dedicated to Europe is imbued with decades of European right-wing dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free speech and stifling of political opposition, 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 be dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and proud commemorations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Core Theories of the Far Right

These points carry powerful overtones of two theories seen as core for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument on the cyclical decline of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise the "perversion" 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 "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace restive "indigenous" populations and bring in a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "America encourages its ideological partners in Europe to promote this resurgence of spirit, and the increasing clout of patriotic European parties in fact gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US believes that it is essential to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the only political force that can achieve this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "fostering opposition 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 reclaim their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on methods, it is obvious that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – especially regarding far-right speech – and not just on 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 directly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not regard Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy takes its inspiration 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 meddle in the "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "implement a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

None of this is necessarily new – consider JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will at last understand that the stance is serious. And if the document is too lengthy or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in clear and succinct terms: the current US government believes that its national security is best served by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to act accordingly.