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On the exact date Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an similarly flamboyant security policy document. This relatively brief paper is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically modest assertion that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the document mostly formalizes the current policies and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a serious caution for the world, and for Europe specifically.

A Strategy of Interference and Cultural Anxiety

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its rhetoric seems taken directly from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to reclaim its cultural self-confidence." Even more ominously, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the real and starker prospect of civilizational erasure."

The entire section on Europe is steeped in decades of European far-right dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free expression and suppression of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-belief." According to the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether certain European countries will have economic power and militaries strong enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to stand up for authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Foundational Ideas of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong echoes of two theories regarded as foundational for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," 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 "Le Grand Remplacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "indigenous" populations and bring in a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "America encourages its political allies in Europe to advance this revival of national spirit, and the growing clout of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

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 sole movement that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to restore their past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on implementation, 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 – particularly regarding far-right speech – and not limited to 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 enemy either.

An Ideological Precedent: 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 cautioned 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 promises to "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" 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 unleashed an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is laid out in an official document, European leaders will finally realize that the situation is grave. And if the document is too lengthy or imprecise for them, it can be summarised in plain and succinct terms: the current US government believes that its national security is best served by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not just an reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to act accordingly.