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On the very date Donald Trump received a tailor-made "peace prize" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an equally ostentatious national security strategy. This fairly brief report drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically humble claim that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the document largely codifies the ongoing actions and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a grave warning for the world, and for the European continent in particular.

A Blueprint of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its rhetoric could have been taken directly from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to regain its cultural self-assurance." More worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the real and starker possibility 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 held responsible for "changing the continent and creating strife, censorship of free expression and suppression of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-confidence." 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 powerful enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Core Theories of the Far Right

These points carry powerful echoes of two theories regarded as core for contemporary far-right 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 "decadence" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," 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 "indigenous" populations and bring in a more submissive and dependent 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 evident where it sees its allies: "America encourages its political allies in Europe to promote this revival of spirit, and the growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Make Europe Great Again"

Put simply, the US believes that it is key to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the sole political force that can achieve this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the robust 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 remains unclear on implementation, it is apparent that a priority is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – especially regarding right-wing speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalise 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 evidently does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical 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 Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to meddle in the "Americas," which he declared to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "assert and enforce 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 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 long or vague for them, it can be condensed in plain and succinct terms: the current US government holds that its national security is most enhanced by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to act accordingly.