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On the exact date Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration published an equally flamboyant national security strategy. This relatively brief paper is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically modest assertion that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of disaster and ruin."

Even though the document largely codifies the ongoing actions and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a grave warning for the world, and for the European continent specifically.

A Strategy of Intervention and Civilizational Fear

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its language seems taken straight 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." More ominously, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and starker possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with generations of European far-right ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, suppression of free speech and stifling of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-confidence." According to the document, if "present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether certain European countries will have economic power and militaries strong enough to remain reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and proud commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and past."

Core Ideas of the Far Right

These points carry strong overtones 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 employed by the German far right to attack the "perversion" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "native" populations and import a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it sees its allies: "America urges its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of spirit, and the growing clout of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, the US believes 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 resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "nations in agreement that want to restore their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on implementation, 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 – particularly regarding far-right speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalise 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 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 warned European powers not to meddle in the "western hemisphere," which he declared to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "assert and enforce a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s speech 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 published in an formal document, European leaders will at last understand that the situation is serious. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be summarised in clear and concise terms: the current US government believes that its national security is most enhanced by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to respond appropriately.