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On the exact day Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an equally ostentatious security policy document. This fairly brief report is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically modest assertion that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of disaster and disaster."

Even though the strategy mostly codifies the current policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a serious caution for the world, and for the European continent in particular.

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive 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 the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." Even more worryingly, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the genuine and starker possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with generations of European right-wing ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and causing strife, censorship of free expression and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-confidence." According to the document, if "present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether some European countries will have economies and armed forces powerful enough to be dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion authentic democracy, free speech, and proud celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and past."

Foundational Ideas of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong overtones of two concepts regarded as core for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument on the inevitable fall of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise the "decadence" 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 explicit 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 grants the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it sees its allies: "The United States urges its ideological partners in Europe to promote this resurgence of national spirit, and the growing influence of patriotic European parties in fact gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

Put simply, the US believes that it is essential to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the only movement that can achieve this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating opposition to Europe’s present path within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the robust 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 remains unclear on methods, it is obvious that a key aim 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 limited to 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 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 Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to interfere in the "western hemisphere," which he declared to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "implement 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 – recall 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 published in an official document, European leaders will at last realize that the stance is serious. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be condensed in plain and succinct terms: the current US government holds that its national security is best served by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to act appropriately.