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On the exact day Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration released an similarly ostentatious national security strategy. This fairly brief report is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically modest assertion that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the strategy largely formalizes the current actions and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a grave warning for the world, and for Europe in particular.

A Strategy of Intervention and Civilizational Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language could have been taken straight from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its cultural self-assurance." Even more ominously, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the genuine and starker prospect of civilizational erasure."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is imbued with generations of European right-wing dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and creating strife, suppression of free speech and suppression of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-confidence." According to the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether some European countries will have economic power and armed forces powerful enough to be reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Core Ideas of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong echoes of two concepts regarded as core for modern far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise the "decadence" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace restive "indigenous" populations and bring in a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it sees its allies: "America encourages its ideological partners in Europe to advance this resurgence of spirit, and the increasing clout of patriotic European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Make Europe Great Again"

Put simply, 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 accomplish this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "fostering opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "nations in agreement that want to restore their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on implementation, it is obvious that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a radical 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 directly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not regard Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical Blueprint: 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. Proclaimed 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 vows to "implement a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – consider JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is laid out in an official document, European leaders will finally understand that the stance 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 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. It is time to act accordingly.