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On the very date Donald Trump received a custom-made "peace prize" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an equally ostentatious security policy document. This relatively brief paper drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically modest assertion that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of disaster and disaster."

Even though the document mostly formalizes the ongoing policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a grave warning for the international community, and for the European continent specifically.

A Strategy of Interference and Cultural Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its language seems lifted straight from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to regain its cultural self-confidence." More worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and more stark possibility of civilizational erasure."

The entire section on Europe is steeped in generations of European far-right ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, suppression of free expression and suppression of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-belief." Per 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 economies and armed forces powerful enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

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

Core Ideas of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong overtones of two concepts seen as foundational for modern 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 criticise the "decadence" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" populations and import 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 duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "The United States encourages its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of spirit, and the growing clout of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

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 sole movement that can achieve this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating opposition to Europe’s present path within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "building up the healthy 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 unclear on methods, it is obvious that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – particularly 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 clearly does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy takes its inspiration 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 "assert and enforce a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

None of this is necessarily new – consider 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 grave. And if the document is too lengthy or imprecise for them, it can be summarised in clear and succinct terms: the current US government believes that its national security is best served by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not only an reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to respond appropriately.