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On the very day Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government released an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This relatively brief report drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically humble claim that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the document mostly formalizes the ongoing policies and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a grave caution for the international community, and for the European continent specifically.

A Strategy of Interference and Cultural Fear

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language could have been taken straight from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to regain its civilizational self-assurance." More worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the real and starker prospect of civilizational erasure."

The entire section dedicated to Europe is imbued with generations of European far-right dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free expression and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-confidence." Per the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognisable 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, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion authentic democracy, free speech, and proud commemorations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Foundational 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 argument on the cyclical decline of civilizations was used 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 translated long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "native" populations and bring in a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "The United States urges its political allies in Europe to promote this resurgence of spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "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 sole movement that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating opposition 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 "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 key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to 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 explicitly 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 glorified US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to meddle in the "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "assert and enforce a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect 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 maybe now that it is laid out in an formal document, European leaders will finally realize that the stance is grave. And if the document is too lengthy or vague for them, it can be condensed in clear and succinct 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 reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to respond accordingly.