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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 administration released an similarly flamboyant national security strategy. This fairly brief report drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically modest claim that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of disaster and ruin."

Even though the strategy largely formalizes the ongoing policies and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a grave warning for the international community, and for Europe in particular.

A Strategy of Intervention and Civilizational Anxiety

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language 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 stay European, to regain its civilizational self-confidence." Even more worryingly, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the real and starker possibility of cultural extinction."

The whole section dedicated to 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 conflict, censorship of free speech and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-belief." According to the document, if "current trajectories 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 strong enough to be dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion genuine democracy, free speech, and proud commemorations 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 contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was used by the German far right to attack the "decadence" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "indigenous" populations and bring in a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream contained in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "America urges its ideological partners in Europe to promote this revival of spirit, and the increasing clout of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

Put simply, the US contends that it is key to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the only political force that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "fostering resistance to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to restore their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on implementation, 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 – especially regarding far-right speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document calls it, to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not regard Russia as an adversary either.

An Ideological 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. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to interfere in the "western hemisphere," which he proclaimed to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "assert and enforce a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard 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 assault on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will finally realize that the situation is serious. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be summarised in clear and succinct 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 willing adversary. Now is time to act appropriately.