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On the very day Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "award for peace" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration published an equally ostentatious security policy document. This fairly brief report is saturated with pure 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 catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the document mostly formalizes the current policies and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a grave warning for the international community, and for Europe in particular.

A Strategy of Intervention and Civilizational Fear

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language seems lifted directly from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its cultural self-assurance." More worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with generations of European far-right dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and causing conflict, suppression of free speech and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-confidence." Per the document, if "present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and armed forces strong enough to be reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to stand up for authentic democracy, free speech, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and past."

Foundational Ideas of the Far Right

These arguments carry strong echoes of two concepts regarded 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 employed 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 translated long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "indigenous" populations and import a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "The United States urges its political allies in Europe to advance this revival of national spirit, and the growing clout of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, 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 achieve this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "fostering resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to restore their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains unclear on methods, it is apparent 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 just on social media. Another is to normalize relations with Russia; or, as the document calls it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the glorified US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to meddle in the "Americas," which he declared to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "implement a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an assault 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 long or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in plain and concise 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 only an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to respond appropriately.