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On the exact date Donald Trump received a tailor-made "peace prize" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration published an equally ostentatious security policy document. This relatively brief report is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically humble assertion that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the strategy mostly codifies the ongoing actions and statements of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a serious caution for the world, and for Europe in particular.

A Strategy of Interference and Cultural Anxiety

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its language seems lifted straight from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to reclaim its civilizational self-confidence." More worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the real and starker possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is steeped in decades of European far-right ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and creating strife, censorship of free speech and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and erosion 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 certain European countries will have economies and armed forces strong enough to be reliable allies." In fact, 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 commemorations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Core Ideas of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong echoes of two theories seen as core for modern far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was employed by the German far right to attack the "decadence" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "indigenous" populations and import a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "The United States encourages its political allies in Europe to advance this resurgence of national spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Make Europe Great Again"

Put simply, the US contends that it is key to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the only movement that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to reclaim their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains unclear on implementation, it is obvious that a priority is to push 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 phrases it, to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the idealized US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to interfere in the "western hemisphere," which he declared to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "assert and enforce a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

None of this is necessarily new – recall JD Vance’s speech 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 at last understand that the situation is grave. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in plain and concise terms: the current US government believes that its national security is best served by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not just an reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to respond appropriately.