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On the exact day Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration released an equally ostentatious security policy document. This fairly short report is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically humble claim that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the document largely formalizes the current actions and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a serious warning for the international community, and for Europe in particular.

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its rhetoric seems taken straight from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to reclaim its civilizational self-confidence." More worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the real and starker possibility of cultural extinction."

The entire section dedicated to Europe is imbued with generations of European right-wing dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and causing conflict, suppression of free speech and stifling of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and erosion of national identities 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 far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economic power and militaries strong enough to remain reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion authentic democracy, free speech, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and past."

Core Theories of the Far Right

These points carry powerful overtones of two concepts seen as foundational for modern far-right 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 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 translated long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "indigenous" populations and import a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "America encourages its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of national spirit, and the growing clout of nationalist European parties in fact 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 movement that can achieve this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "building up the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to restore their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on implementation, it is obvious that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – especially regarding far-right 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 clearly does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological Precedent: 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 1823 policy 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 promises to "implement a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is necessarily new – consider JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an assault 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 serious. And if the document is too lengthy or vague for them, it can be condensed in plain and concise 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 reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to act appropriately.