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On the very day Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "peace prize" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government published an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This fairly brief paper is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically modest assertion that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the strategy mostly codifies the ongoing actions and statements of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a serious warning for the world, and for Europe specifically.

A Blueprint of Interference and Cultural Fear

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its rhetoric seems lifted directly from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to regain its cultural self-assurance." Even more worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is steeped in decades of European far-right dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, suppression of free speech and stifling of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-confidence." Per the document, if "present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to remain reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes 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, freedom of expression, and proud celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and past."

Core Ideas of the Far Right

These arguments carry strong echoes of two theories seen as core 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 attack the "perversion" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "indigenous" populations and bring in a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "The United States urges its political allies in Europe to promote this resurgence of spirit, and the growing influence of patriotic European parties in fact gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, the US believes that it is key to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the sole movement that can achieve this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "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 "nations in agreement that want to restore their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on methods, it is apparent that a priority is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – especially regarding right-wing speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalise 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 evidently does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, 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 meddle in the "western hemisphere," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "assert and enforce a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

This is necessarily new – recall 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 laid out in an formal document, European leaders will finally understand that the stance is grave. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be condensed in plain and concise terms: the current US government believes that its national security is best served by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to act accordingly.