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On the very date Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "peace prize" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration published an equally flamboyant national security strategy. This relatively short report drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest claim that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of disaster and disaster."

Even though the strategy mostly codifies the ongoing policies and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a serious caution for the international community, and for the European continent specifically.

A Strategy of Intervention and Civilizational Anxiety

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its rhetoric could have been taken directly from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to reclaim its civilizational self-confidence." More ominously, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and starker prospect 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 held responsible for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free expression and suppression of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-belief." Per the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether some European countries will have economic power and militaries powerful enough to be dependable allies." In fact, 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 stand up for genuine democracy, free speech, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Core Theories of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry strong echoes of two concepts regarded 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 "decadence" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" 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 intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it sees its allies: "The United States urges its ideological partners in Europe to promote this resurgence of spirit, and the growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, 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. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "fostering resistance to Europe’s present path within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the healthy 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 vague on implementation, it is apparent that a key aim is to push Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to 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 explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the glorified US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to meddle in the "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "assert and enforce a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an official document, European leaders will finally understand that the situation is serious. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be summarised 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. In other words, the US is not just an reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to respond appropriately.