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On the very day Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an equally ostentatious security policy document. This relatively brief report is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically humble assertion that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of disaster and ruin."

Even though the strategy largely formalizes the ongoing policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a grave warning for the international community, and for the European continent in particular.

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Fear

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its rhetoric seems taken directly from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to reclaim its cultural self-confidence." More ominously, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and starker prospect of civilizational erasure."

The entire section dedicated to Europe is steeped in generations of European right-wing ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and causing conflict, suppression of free speech and stifling of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-belief." Per the document, if "current trajectories 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 armed forces powerful enough to be dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion genuine democracy, free speech, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Foundational Theories of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong overtones of two concepts regarded as foundational for contemporary 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 attack the "perversion" and "weakness" 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 overt conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "native" populations and import a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it sees its allies: "The United States urges its political allies in Europe to advance this resurgence of spirit, and the increasing clout of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "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 "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "fostering resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "building up the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries 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 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 enemy either.

A Historical Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy takes its inspiration less from the glorified US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to interfere in the "western hemisphere," which he declared to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is necessarily new – consider JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will at last realize that the situation is serious. And if the document is too lengthy or vague 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 demise of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not just an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to act accordingly.