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On the very date Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "peace prize" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration released an equally flamboyant security policy document. This fairly brief report drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically modest claim that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of disaster and ruin."

Even though the strategy largely formalizes the current policies and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a serious warning for the international community, and for Europe specifically.

A Strategy of Interference and Cultural Fear

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its rhetoric seems taken straight from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." Even more ominously, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the real and starker prospect of cultural extinction."

The entire section on Europe is steeped in decades of European right-wing dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free expression and suppression of dissent, cratering birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-belief." Per the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether some European countries will have economies and armed forces powerful enough to be dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain 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 Right-Wing

These points carry strong overtones of two concepts regarded as core for contemporary far-right 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 "decadence" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," 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 replace restive "indigenous" populations and bring in a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "The United States 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 significant hope."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US believes that it is essential to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the sole political force that can achieve this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "fostering opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "building up the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to reclaim their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on methods, it is obvious that a key aim is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – particularly regarding far-right speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalise 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 takes its inspiration less from the glorified US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Proclaimed 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 vows to "implement a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – consider JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an official document, European leaders will finally understand that the situation is grave. And if the document is too long or imprecise 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 reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to act appropriately.