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On the very day Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an equally flamboyant national security strategy. This relatively short paper drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically modest assertion that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the document mostly formalizes the current policies and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a serious warning for the world, and for Europe in particular.

A Blueprint of Intervention and Civilizational Anxiety

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its rhetoric could have been lifted directly from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to regain its civilizational self-confidence." More ominously, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the real and starker prospect of civilizational erasure."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is steeped in decades of European far-right ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free speech and stifling of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-belief." 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 economies and militaries strong enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion authentic democracy, free speech, and proud celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Foundational Ideas of the Far Right

These arguments carry powerful echoes of two concepts seen as core for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was employed by the German far right to attack the "perversion" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" populations and import a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "The United States encourages its political allies in Europe to advance this revival of spirit, and the increasing clout of patriotic European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US contends that it is essential to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the sole political force that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "fostering resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "nations in agreement that want to restore their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on implementation, it is obvious that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – especially regarding right-wing speech – and not limited to social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document calls it, to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological 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 Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to meddle in the "western hemisphere," 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 involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

This is necessarily new – recall JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will at last understand that the situation is serious. And if the document is too lengthy or vague for them, it can be summarised in clear and succinct terms: the current US government holds that its national security is most enhanced by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to respond accordingly.