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On the exact day Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration released an similarly flamboyant security policy document. This relatively brief paper drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically humble assertion that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of disaster and ruin."

Even though the document mostly codifies the ongoing actions and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a serious caution for the international community, and for Europe specifically.

A Strategy of Interference and Cultural Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its rhetoric seems lifted straight from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to regain its civilizational self-assurance." More ominously, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the real and starker possibility of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with generations of European far-right dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free speech and stifling of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-belief." Per 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." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and proud commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and past."

Foundational Theories of the Far Right

These points carry strong echoes of two concepts seen as core for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument on the inevitable fall of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise the "decadence" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "indigenous" populations and bring in a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy contained in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "America urges its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of spirit, and the growing clout of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US contends that it is key to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the only political force that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "nations in agreement that want to restore their past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains 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 limited to 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 regard Russia as an adversary either.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy takes its inspiration 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 interfere in the "western hemisphere," 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 involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed 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 stance is grave. And if the document is too lengthy or imprecise for them, it can be summarised in clear and concise terms: the current US government holds that its national security is best served 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. Now is time to act appropriately.