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On the exact date Donald Trump received a tailor-made "peace prize" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government published an equally ostentatious security policy document. This fairly short paper is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically humble assertion that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the document largely codifies 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 Strategy of Interference and Cultural Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its rhetoric seems taken straight from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to regain its cultural self-confidence." More worryingly, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the real and starker possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with decades of European right-wing ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and causing strife, suppression of free speech and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of national identities 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 not at all clear whether some European countries will have economies and armed forces powerful enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion genuine democracy, free speech, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Core Theories of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry powerful overtones of two theories seen as core for modern far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the inevitable fall of civilizations was used by the German far right to attack the "perversion" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," published 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 "native" populations and bring in a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy contained in both ideas that grants 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 ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of national spirit, and the increasing influence of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, the US contends that it is key 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 present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening 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 unclear on methods, it is apparent that a key aim is to pressure 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 normalize 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 adversary either.

A Historical Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy takes its inspiration 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 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 "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

This is necessarily new – consider JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an ideological attack 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 serious. And if the document is too long 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 demise of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not just an reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to act appropriately.