🔗 Share this article

On the exact day Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an similarly flamboyant security policy document. This relatively brief paper is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically humble assertion that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the strategy largely codifies the current policies and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a grave caution for the international community, and for Europe specifically.

A Blueprint of Intervention and Civilizational Fear

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its language could have been lifted straight from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to regain its cultural self-assurance." Even more worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the genuine and more stark possibility of cultural extinction."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is steeped in decades of European right-wing ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and causing strife, censorship of free expression and suppression of dissent, cratering birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-confidence." According to the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economic power and militaries strong 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."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Core Ideas of the Far Right

These points carry powerful echoes of two concepts seen 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 employed by the German far right to attack the "perversion" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," 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 replace rebellious "native" populations and bring in a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it sees its allies: "The United States urges its political allies in Europe to promote this resurgence of national spirit, and the growing clout of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Make Europe Great Again"

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 only movement that can achieve this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "fostering resistance 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 "nations in agreement that want to reclaim their past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on methods, it is apparent that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with 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 explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical 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 Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to interfere in the "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "implement a Trump corollary" 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 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 grave. And if the document is too lengthy or vague 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 demise of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not just an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to act accordingly.