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On the very day Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an equally ostentatious national security strategy. This relatively short report drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest assertion that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of disaster and ruin."

Even though the document largely formalizes the ongoing policies and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a serious caution for the international community, and for the European continent in particular.

A Strategy of Intervention and Cultural Fear

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language seems taken directly from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to regain its cultural self-assurance." Even more worryingly, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and more stark possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is imbued with decades of European right-wing dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and creating strife, censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-belief." Per the document, if "present trends 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 powerful enough to remain reliable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

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

Core Ideas of the Far Right

These arguments carry powerful echoes of two concepts seen as foundational for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument 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 substitute rebellious "indigenous" populations and import a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy contained in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "America urges its political allies in Europe to advance this resurgence of spirit, and the increasing clout of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Make Europe Great Again"

Put simply, the US contends that it is essential to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the sole political force that can achieve this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "fostering opposition to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning 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 stays unclear on methods, it is apparent that a priority is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – particularly regarding far-right speech – and not limited to 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 regard Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy takes its inspiration less from the idealized US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to meddle in the "Americas," which he declared to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "assert and enforce a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is necessarily new – recall JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is laid out in an formal document, European leaders will at last understand that the situation is serious. And if the document is too lengthy or vague for them, it can be summarised in plain and concise 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. Now is time to act appropriately.