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On the exact day Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government published an equally ostentatious security policy document. This fairly brief paper is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest assertion that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of disaster and disaster."

Even though the document largely formalizes the current policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a serious warning for the world, and for the European continent in particular.

A Blueprint of Intervention and Cultural Anxiety

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language seems taken directly from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its cultural self-assurance." More ominously, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure."

The entire section on Europe is steeped in generations of European far-right dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and creating conflict, suppression of free speech and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and erosion of national identities 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 economies and militaries strong enough to be dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, some 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’ individual character and history."

Core Ideas of the Right-Wing

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 thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was employed by the German far right to attack the "decadence" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "indigenous" populations and import a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it sees its allies: "America encourages its political allies in Europe to promote this revival of spirit, and the increasing influence of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US believes that it is essential to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the only political force that can achieve 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 "aligned countries that want to reclaim their former greatness" – 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 radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – particularly 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 clearly does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

A Historical Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, 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 warned 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 "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

None of this is necessarily new – recall JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will at last understand that the situation is grave. And if the document is too long or imprecise 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. In other words, the US is not just an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to respond appropriately.