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On the exact date Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "peace prize" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government published an equally flamboyant national security strategy. This relatively short report drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest claim that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of catastrophe and ruin."

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

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Fear

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its rhetoric could have been taken directly from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to regain its civilizational self-assurance." Even more ominously, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and more stark possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is imbued with decades of European right-wing ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and causing strife, censorship of free expression and stifling of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-belief." According to the document, if "present trends 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 champion authentic democracy, free speech, and proud celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and past."

Foundational Theories of the Far Right

These points carry powerful echoes of two theories regarded as foundational for contemporary 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 attack the "perversion" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit 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 encapsulated 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: "America urges its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of national 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 believes that it is essential to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the only movement that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "fostering opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to restore their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on implementation, it is obvious that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – particularly regarding far-right speech – and not limited to 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 directly 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 takes its inspiration less from the idealized US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this warned 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 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.

None of this is necessarily new – recall JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an official document, European leaders will at last understand that the situation is serious. And if the document is too lengthy or vague for them, it can be summarised in plain and succinct terms: the current US government holds that its national security is most enhanced by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to respond accordingly.