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On the exact day Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "award for peace" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration published an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This fairly brief paper drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically 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 codifies the current policies and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a serious caution for the international community, and for Europe specifically.

A Blueprint of Interference and Cultural Anxiety

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its language seems taken straight from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." More worryingly, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the genuine and starker prospect of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is steeped in decades of European far-right dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free speech and suppression of dissent, cratering birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-confidence." According to the document, if "present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether certain European countries will have economies and armed forces powerful enough to remain reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes 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 commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and past."

Foundational Ideas of the Right-Wing

These points carry powerful overtones of two theories regarded as core for contemporary right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument on the cyclical decline 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 transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "native" populations and import a more submissive and dependent electorate.

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

The Objective: "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 political force that can achieve this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating opposition to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to reclaim their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on implementation, it is obvious that a key aim is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to 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 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 adversary 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 Monroe Doctrine 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 "assert and enforce a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails 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 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 lengthy or vague for them, it can be condensed in clear and concise terms: the current US government believes that its national security is most enhanced by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to act accordingly.