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On the exact date Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government released an equally ostentatious national security strategy. This fairly short paper drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically modest assertion that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of disaster and ruin."

Even though the strategy mostly formalizes the ongoing policies and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a grave warning for the world, and for Europe specifically.

A Blueprint of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its language could have been lifted directly from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to regain its civilizational self-assurance." Even more ominously, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the genuine and starker possibility of civilizational erasure."

The entire section dedicated to Europe is steeped in decades of European right-wing dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and creating conflict, suppression of free expression and stifling of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-belief." According to the document, if "present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries powerful enough to be reliable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

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

Core Theories of the Far Right

These points carry strong overtones of two theories regarded as core for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument on the cyclical decline of civilizations was employed 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 transformed long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace restive "indigenous" populations and import a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy encapsulated 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: "America urges its political allies in Europe to advance this revival of national spirit, and the increasing influence of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US contends that it is key to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the sole movement that can achieve this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "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 restore their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on methods, it is apparent that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – especially regarding right-wing speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalize relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases 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 Precedent: 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. Articulated by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to interfere in the "western hemisphere," which he proclaimed to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "assert and enforce a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is necessarily new – consider JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is laid out 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 condensed in clear and concise terms: the current US government holds that its national security is most enhanced by the destruction 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.