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On the very date Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "peace prize" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government released an equally ostentatious security policy document. This relatively short report drips with pure 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 catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the document largely formalizes the current actions and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a serious caution for the international community, and for the European continent specifically.

A Strategy of Intervention and Civilizational Anxiety

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language could have been lifted straight from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to reclaim its cultural self-confidence." More worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the real and starker possibility of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with decades of European far-right dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free expression and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-belief." Per the document, if "present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economic power and armed forces powerful enough to remain reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly 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 Far Right

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 employed by the German far right to criticise 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 conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "native" populations and bring in a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "America urges its ideological partners in Europe to promote this revival of spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties indeed 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 "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the only political force that can achieve 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 "nations in agreement that want to restore their past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains vague on methods, it is obvious that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – especially regarding right-wing speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalize relations with Russia; or, as the document calls 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.

A Historical Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the idealized 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 "Americas," which he declared to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document vows 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 entirely 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 situation 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 believes that its national security is most enhanced by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not just an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to respond accordingly.