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On the exact date Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration released an similarly flamboyant national security strategy. This relatively brief report drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically humble assertion that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of disaster and disaster."

Even though the document mostly formalizes the current policies and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a grave caution for the world, and for Europe in particular.

A Strategy of Intervention and Cultural Anxiety

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its language seems taken straight from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to reclaim its cultural self-assurance." More worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the real and more stark possibility of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is steeped in decades of European far-right ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, suppression of free speech and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity 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 armed forces strong enough to remain reliable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to stand up for authentic democracy, free speech, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and past."

Core Theories of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong overtones of two theories seen as core for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose argument on the inevitable fall of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise the "perversion" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "native" populations and bring in a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream contained in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "America urges its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival 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 believes that it is essential to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the only movement that can achieve this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "fostering resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "nations in agreement 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 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 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 wider context, the national security strategy takes its inspiration less from the idealized US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this cautioned 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 "implement a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

This is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s address 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 at last understand that the situation 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 holds that its national security is most enhanced by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not just an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to act accordingly.