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On the exact day Donald Trump received a custom-made "peace prize" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration released an similarly flamboyant national security strategy. This relatively brief paper drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest claim that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of disaster and disaster."

Even though the strategy largely formalizes the ongoing actions and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a serious warning for the international community, and for the European continent specifically.

A Blueprint of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its rhetoric could have been lifted directly from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." Even more ominously, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the real and more stark possibility of cultural extinction."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is imbued with decades of European far-right ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free expression and suppression of dissent, cratering birthrates, and loss 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 not at all clear whether some European countries will have economic power and armed forces strong enough to remain reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Core Ideas of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry powerful overtones of two theories regarded as core 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 replace restive "native" populations and import a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy contained in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. 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 clout of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

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 only movement that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "fostering opposition to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to restore their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on methods, it is obvious that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – particularly regarding right-wing 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.

A Historical Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, 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 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 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 – consider JD Vance’s address 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 formal document, European leaders will finally realize that the situation is grave. And if the document is too lengthy or imprecise for them, it can be summarised in plain and concise 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 willing adversary. It is time to act accordingly.