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On the very date Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "peace prize" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration published an equally ostentatious national security strategy. This relatively brief paper is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest claim that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the strategy largely codifies the ongoing actions and statements of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a serious caution for the international community, and for Europe in particular.

A Strategy of Intervention and Civilizational Fear

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its rhetoric seems lifted straight from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." More worryingly, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the real and more stark possibility of civilizational erasure."

The entire section dedicated to Europe is imbued with generations of European far-right ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and causing conflict, suppression of free speech and suppression of dissent, cratering 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 far from obvious whether some European countries will have economic power and militaries powerful enough to remain reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion authentic democracy, free speech, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Core Theories of the Far Right

These points carry strong overtones of two concepts seen as core for modern far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the inevitable fall of civilizations was employed by the German far right to attack the "decadence" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "indigenous" populations and import a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy 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 identifies its allies: "The United States encourages its political allies in Europe to promote this revival of spirit, and the growing clout of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US contends that it is essential to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the only political force that can achieve this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as 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 remains unclear on methods, it is apparent that a priority 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 "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not regard Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical 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 1823 policy of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to interfere in the "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "assert and enforce a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" 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 published in an official document, European leaders will at last understand that the stance is serious. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in clear and succinct terms: the current US government holds that its national security is best served by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not just an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to respond appropriately.