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On the very day Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government released an equally flamboyant national security strategy. This fairly brief 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 disaster."

Even though the strategy largely formalizes the ongoing actions and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a serious warning for the international community, and for the European continent specifically.

A Blueprint of Interference and Cultural Fear

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its rhetoric seems taken straight from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to regain its cultural self-confidence." Even more ominously, 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 imbued with generations of European right-wing ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free expression and stifling of dissent, cratering birthrates, and erosion of national identities 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 not at all clear whether some European countries will have economies and militaries powerful enough to remain reliable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion authentic democracy, free speech, and proud commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Core Theories of the Far Right

These arguments carry strong overtones of two theories regarded as core for contemporary right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument 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 "Le Grand Remplacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "indigenous" populations and bring in a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "America urges its political allies in Europe to promote this revival of national spirit, and the increasing influence of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, the US contends that it is essential to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the only movement that can achieve this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "fostering resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to reclaim their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on methods, it is apparent that a key aim is to push 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 treat Russia as an enemy either.

A Historical 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. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to meddle in the "western hemisphere," which he declared to be the US’s sphere of interest. 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 entirely new – recall JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is laid out in an formal document, European leaders will finally realize that the situation is serious. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be summarised 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. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to act accordingly.