🔗 Share this article

On the exact day Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government published an similarly flamboyant national security strategy. This relatively brief paper drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest assertion that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the document mostly formalizes the current policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a grave warning for the world, and for the European continent specifically.

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 could have been 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 reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." Even more worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and more stark possibility of cultural extinction."

The entire section dedicated to Europe is imbued with generations of European far-right dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and causing strife, censorship of free expression and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-confidence." According to the document, if "present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether some European countries will have economic power and armed forces strong enough to be reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

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

Core Theories of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong echoes of two theories seen as foundational for contemporary right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," 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 "The Great Replacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "native" populations and bring in a more submissive and reliant 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 evident where it sees its allies: "The United States encourages its ideological partners in Europe to promote this resurgence of spirit, and the growing clout of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Make Europe Great Again"

Put simply, the US believes that it is key 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 "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "fostering resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to restore their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

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

An Ideological Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, 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 meddle in the "Americas," which he declared to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "assert and enforce a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

This is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an official document, European leaders will finally realize that the stance is serious. And if the document is too lengthy or imprecise for them, it can be summarised in plain and succinct terms: the current US government believes 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 unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to respond appropriately.