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On the very day Donald Trump received a custom-made "peace prize" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an similarly ostentatious national security strategy. This fairly short report drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically humble assertion that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of disaster and ruin."

Even though the strategy mostly codifies the ongoing policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a serious caution for the international community, and for Europe specifically.

A Strategy of Intervention and Civilizational Fear

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its language seems taken straight from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to regain its civilizational self-confidence." Even more ominously, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the real and more stark prospect of cultural extinction."

The entire section on Europe is imbued with generations of European far-right dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and causing strife, censorship of free expression and suppression of dissent, cratering birthrates, and loss of national identities 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 believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and proud commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Core Theories of the Far Right

These points carry strong echoes of two concepts seen as foundational for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose argument on the cyclical decline of civilizations was used by the German far right to attack the "perversion" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "indigenous" populations and import a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is evident where it sees its allies: "America urges its ideological partners in Europe to advance this resurgence of spirit, and the increasing influence of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US contends that it is key to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the sole political force that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "fostering resistance to Europe’s present path within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "aligned countries that want to reclaim their past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on methods, it is apparent that a priority is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with 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 evidently does not treat 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 promises 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 entirely new – recall 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 official document, European leaders will finally realize that the stance is serious. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in plain and succinct terms: the current US government holds that its national security is most enhanced by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to respond accordingly.