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On the very day Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an equally ostentatious security policy document. This relatively brief paper is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically humble claim that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of disaster and ruin."

Even though the document mostly formalizes the ongoing actions and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a serious caution for the international community, and for Europe in particular.

A Strategy of Interference and Cultural Anxiety

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its rhetoric seems lifted straight from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." More worryingly, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the real and starker possibility of civilizational erasure."

The entire section dedicated to Europe is steeped in generations of European far-right dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free speech and suppression of dissent, cratering birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-belief." Per the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether certain European countries will have economic power and militaries powerful enough to remain reliable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to stand up for authentic democracy, free speech, and proud celebrations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Core Theories of the Far Right

These points carry strong overtones of two concepts regarded as foundational for contemporary far-right 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 attack the "decadence" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" populations and import a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "America encourages its political allies in Europe to advance this resurgence of national spirit, and the growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

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 sole movement that can achieve this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating resistance to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "aligned countries that want to restore their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on implementation, it is apparent that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with 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 calls it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not regard Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy takes its inspiration less from the idealized 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 "western hemisphere," which he proclaimed to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "assert and enforce a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

This is entirely 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 official document, European leaders will at last realize that the stance is grave. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be summarised in plain 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 willing adversary. It is time to act accordingly.