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On the exact day Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "peace prize" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government released an equally ostentatious national security strategy. This fairly brief report is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest assertion that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of disaster and ruin."

Even though the strategy largely formalizes the ongoing policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a serious caution for the international community, and for Europe specifically.

A Blueprint of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its rhetoric could have been taken directly from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its civilizational self-confidence." More ominously, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the real and starker prospect of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is steeped in generations of European far-right ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and causing strife, censorship of free expression and stifling of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of national identities 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 certain European countries will have economic power and militaries powerful enough to be reliable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and proud commemorations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Core Ideas of the Far Right

These points carry powerful overtones of two theories regarded as foundational for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise the "decadence" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" populations and bring in a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "The United States encourages its political allies in Europe to promote this resurgence of spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US believes that it is key to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the sole political force that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "fostering resistance to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "nations in agreement that want to reclaim their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear 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 – especially regarding far-right speech – and not just on 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 clearly does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical Precedent: 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. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to meddle in the "Americas," which he declared to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

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 laid out in an formal document, European leaders will finally understand that the stance is serious. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in plain 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 reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to act accordingly.