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On the exact day Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government published an equally flamboyant security policy document. This fairly short paper drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically humble assertion that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of disaster and ruin."

Even though the document largely codifies the ongoing actions and statements of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a grave warning for the world, and for Europe specifically.

A Strategy of Intervention and Cultural Anxiety

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language could have been lifted directly from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to regain its cultural self-assurance." Even more ominously, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the genuine and starker prospect of civilizational erasure."

The whole 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 strife, censorship of free speech and stifling of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-confidence." According to the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether some European countries will have economic power and militaries strong enough to be dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Foundational Ideas of the Right-Wing

These points carry powerful overtones of two theories seen 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 criticise the "perversion" and "enfeeblement" 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 explicit conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "native" populations and bring in a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy contained 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 clear where it sees its allies: "America urges its political allies in Europe to advance this revival of national spirit, and the increasing influence of patriotic European parties in fact gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US believes that it is key to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the only movement that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating opposition to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "aligned countries that want to reclaim their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains vague on methods, it is obvious that a priority 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 normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document calls it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not regard Russia as an adversary either.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy draws its ideas 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 sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document vows 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 – recall JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an official 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 clear and concise terms: the current US government holds that its national security is best served by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to respond appropriately.