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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 government released an equally ostentatious security policy document. This fairly short paper is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically modest claim that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of disaster and disaster."

Even though the document largely codifies the current actions and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a grave warning for the world, and for Europe specifically.

A Strategy of Intervention and Cultural Fear

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language seems taken directly from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to reclaim its cultural self-assurance." Even more worryingly, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and starker prospect of civilizational erasure."

The entire section dedicated to Europe is imbued with generations of European right-wing dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free speech and stifling of dissent, cratering birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-confidence." According to the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether certain European countries will have economies and armed forces strong enough to be reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to stand up for authentic democracy, free speech, and proud commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and past."

Foundational Ideas of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry strong overtones of two theories seen as core for modern far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose thesis on the inevitable fall of civilizations was employed by the German far right to criticise 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 "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" populations and bring in a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. 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 nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US believes that it is key to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the sole movement that can achieve this. Consequently, its "broad policy 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 former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains vague 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 just on 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 clearly does not regard 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 idealized US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to interfere 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 corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" 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 finally understand that the stance is serious. And if the document is too long or imprecise 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 destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to respond accordingly.