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On the very date Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an similarly flamboyant security policy document. This relatively short report drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically modest claim that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the strategy mostly formalizes the ongoing actions and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a serious warning for the international community, and for Europe in particular.

A Strategy of Intervention and Cultural Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its rhetoric could have been lifted straight from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." Even more ominously, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the genuine and more stark prospect 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 blamed for "changing the continent and causing strife, suppression of free speech and stifling of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-belief." According to the document, if "present trends 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 militaries powerful enough to be reliable 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, free speech, and proud commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Foundational Theories of the Far Right

These arguments carry powerful echoes of two concepts seen as foundational for contemporary far-right 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 "decadence" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "native" populations and import a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy contained 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 sees its allies: "America urges its political allies in Europe to advance this revival of spirit, and the growing clout of patriotic European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, the US contends that it is essential to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the sole political force that can achieve this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "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 "aligned countries that want to reclaim their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains vague on methods, it is obvious that a key aim is to push Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – especially regarding far-right speech – and not limited to social media. Another is to normalize relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases it, to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

An Ideological Precedent: 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 1823 policy of 1823. Proclaimed 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 "assert and enforce a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" 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 assault on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is laid out in an official document, European leaders will at last understand that the situation is serious. And if the document is too long or imprecise 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 demise of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to act appropriately.