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On the exact date Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an equally flamboyant security policy document. This fairly short report is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically humble claim that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of disaster and disaster."

Even though the document largely codifies the ongoing actions and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a serious warning for the international community, and for the European continent specifically.

A Strategy of Interference and Cultural Fear

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." 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 remain European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." More worryingly, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and starker possibility of cultural extinction."

The entire section dedicated to Europe is steeped in decades of European right-wing dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free speech and stifling of dissent, cratering birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-confidence." Per the document, if "present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether some European countries will have economic power and armed forces strong enough to be dependable allies." Indeed, 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 unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Foundational Theories of the Far Right

These arguments carry powerful echoes of two concepts regarded as foundational for contemporary right-wing 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 "The Great Replacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" populations and import a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "The United States urges its political allies in Europe to promote this resurgence of spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US believes that it is essential to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the only movement that can achieve this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "fostering resistance 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" – in particular "aligned countries that want to reclaim their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains unclear on methods, it is apparent that a key aim is to push Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with 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 calls it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

An Ideological 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 1823 policy of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to interfere in the "western hemisphere," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

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 perhaps now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will finally understand that the stance is grave. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be condensed in plain and succinct 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 just an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to act accordingly.