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On the very date Donald Trump received a custom-made "peace prize" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an similarly ostentatious national security strategy. This fairly brief paper is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically modest assertion that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the strategy largely codifies the ongoing policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a serious warning for the international community, and for Europe specifically.

A Blueprint of Intervention and Cultural Anxiety

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its language seems taken straight from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." More ominously, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the genuine and more stark possibility of cultural extinction."

The entire section dedicated to Europe is steeped in generations of European right-wing dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and creating strife, suppression of free expression and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and loss of national identities 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 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, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Foundational Ideas of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong echoes of two theories seen as core for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument on the cyclical decline of civilizations was used by the German far right to attack the "perversion" 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 "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "native" populations and bring in a more docile 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 intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "America encourages its political allies in Europe to advance this resurgence of spirit, and the increasing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, the US contends that it is key to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the only movement that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "fostering resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "nations in agreement that want to restore their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on implementation, it is obvious that a key aim is to push Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – particularly regarding right-wing speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalize relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases it, to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not regard Russia as an adversary 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 "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "implement a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – consider JD Vance’s speech 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 finally understand that the situation is serious. And if the document is too long or imprecise 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 demise of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not just an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to act accordingly.