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On the very date Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This relatively brief paper drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically modest assertion that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of disaster and disaster."

Even though the document mostly formalizes the current policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a serious warning for the international community, and for Europe specifically.

A Strategy of Interference and Cultural Anxiety

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its language could have been lifted directly from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to reclaim its cultural self-assurance." More worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure."

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 "changing the continent and creating strife, suppression of free speech and suppression of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-belief." Per 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." Indeed, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and proud celebrations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Core Ideas of the Right-Wing

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 used by the German far right to attack the "decadence" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "indigenous" populations and import a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream contained in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "The United States urges its ideological partners in Europe to advance this resurgence of national spirit, and the growing clout of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "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. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "fostering opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "nations in agreement that want to reclaim their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on methods, it is apparent that a priority is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – especially regarding far-right speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalize relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not regard Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy takes its inspiration 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 "western hemisphere," which he proclaimed to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is necessarily new – consider JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is laid out in an official document, European leaders will at last understand that the situation is grave. And if the document is too lengthy 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 destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not just an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to respond accordingly.