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On the very date Donald Trump received a custom-made "peace prize" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This fairly short report is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically humble assertion that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of disaster and ruin."

Even though the document mostly codifies the ongoing policies and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a serious caution for the world, and for the European continent specifically.

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Fear

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its rhetoric seems taken directly from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to regain its civilizational self-confidence." More worryingly, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and starker possibility of cultural extinction."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is steeped in decades of European far-right ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and creating strife, censorship of free expression and suppression of dissent, cratering birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-belief." According to 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 economic power and armed forces strong enough to remain dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion authentic democracy, free speech, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Foundational Ideas of the Far Right

These points carry powerful overtones of two concepts regarded as core for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the inevitable fall of civilizations was used by the German far right to attack the "decadence" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "indigenous" populations and import a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream contained in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, 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 resurgence of spirit, and the growing clout of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

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 sole movement that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "fostering opposition to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "aligned countries that want to restore their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on methods, it is obvious that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – particularly regarding far-right speech – and not just on 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 clearly does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, 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 cautioned 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 vows to "assert and enforce a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is necessarily new – consider 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 official document, European leaders will at last realize that the stance is serious. And if the document is too lengthy or imprecise 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 only an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to respond accordingly.