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On the exact day Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an equally flamboyant security policy document. This relatively short report drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically humble assertion that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the strategy mostly formalizes the current policies and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a grave warning for the international community, and for Europe specifically.

A Blueprint of Intervention and Cultural Fear

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its rhetoric seems taken directly from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to regain its cultural self-assurance." More worryingly, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the real and starker prospect of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is steeped in generations of European far-right dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free speech and suppression of dissent, cratering birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-belief." According to the document, if "present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether some European countries will have economic power and militaries strong enough to be reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Foundational Ideas of the Far Right

These arguments carry strong overtones of two concepts seen as core for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose argument 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 "The Great Replacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "indigenous" populations and bring in a more submissive and dependent 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 clear where it sees its allies: "America urges its ideological partners in Europe to promote this revival of spirit, and the growing clout of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

Put simply, the US believes 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 achieve this. Therefore, 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" – specifically "nations in agreement that want to restore their past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on implementation, it is obvious that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – especially regarding right-wing speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document calls it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

A Historical 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. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to meddle in the "western hemisphere," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "assert and enforce a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

This is necessarily new – recall JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will at last realize 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 demise of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not just an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to act accordingly.