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On the very day Donald Trump received a tailor-made "peace prize" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government published an equally flamboyant security policy document. This relatively short paper drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically humble assertion that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of disaster and disaster."

Even though the strategy largely formalizes the current policies and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a grave caution for the world, and for Europe in particular.

A Blueprint of Interference and Cultural Fear

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its rhetoric could have been taken straight from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." More ominously, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the real and more stark prospect of cultural extinction."

The entire section on Europe is imbued with generations of European far-right dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free expression and suppression of dissent, 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 some European countries will have economies and militaries strong 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 predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Core Ideas of the Far Right

These points carry powerful echoes of two concepts regarded as core for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was employed by the German far right to attack the "decadence" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "indigenous" populations and bring in a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "The United States urges its political allies in Europe to promote this revival of national spirit, and the growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, 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 political force that can achieve this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "fostering resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to restore their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on methods, it is apparent that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – especially 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 directly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical Precedent: 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. Articulated by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to interfere in the "western hemisphere," which he declared to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "implement a Trump corollary" 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 maybe now that it is laid out in an official document, European leaders will finally understand that the stance is serious. And if the document is too lengthy or vague for them, it can be condensed in plain 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 reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to act appropriately.