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On the exact date Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "award for peace" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration published an similarly flamboyant national security strategy. This fairly short report drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically humble claim that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of disaster and disaster."

Even though the document mostly codifies the ongoing actions and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a grave caution for the international community, and for Europe specifically.

A Blueprint of Interference and Cultural Fear

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its rhetoric could have been taken directly from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to regain its cultural self-assurance." More ominously, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with decades of European far-right dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and causing strife, suppression of free speech and suppression of dissent, cratering 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 far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economic power and armed forces strong enough to remain dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes 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 proud celebrations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Core Theories of the Far Right

These points carry powerful echoes of two concepts seen as core for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose thesis on the inevitable fall of civilizations was employed by the German far right to criticise the "perversion" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "indigenous" populations and import a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "The United States encourages its political allies in Europe to advance this resurgence of spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US contends that it is essential to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the only political force that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "aligned countries that want to reclaim their past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on methods, it is apparent that a priority is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to 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 phrases it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy takes its inspiration less from the glorified US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to interfere in the "Americas," which he proclaimed 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 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 launched an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is laid out in an formal document, European leaders will finally understand 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 believes that its national security is best served by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to respond appropriately.