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On the exact day Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration published an similarly ostentatious national security strategy. This relatively brief report is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically humble claim that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of disaster and ruin."

Even though the strategy mostly formalizes the ongoing policies and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a serious warning for the international community, and for Europe in particular.

A Strategy of Interference and Cultural Anxiety

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its rhetoric seems taken straight from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to reclaim its civilizational self-confidence." More worryingly, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the genuine and more stark prospect of cultural extinction."

The entire section on Europe is imbued with generations of European right-wing ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and causing strife, censorship of free expression and stifling of dissent, cratering birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-confidence." According to the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether certain European countries will have economies and armed forces powerful enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, free speech, and proud commemorations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Core Theories of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry powerful echoes of two theories regarded as foundational for modern far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise the "perversion" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "indigenous" populations and bring in a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "The United States urges its political allies in Europe to promote this resurgence of national spirit, and the increasing clout of patriotic European parties indeed 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 "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the only movement that can achieve this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "fostering opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the robust 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 stays unclear on methods, 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 far-right 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 clearly does not regard Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy takes its inspiration less from the idealized US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to interfere in the "western hemisphere," which he declared to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "assert and enforce a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – consider JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is laid out in an formal document, European leaders will finally realize that the situation 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 best served by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not just an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to respond accordingly.