🔗 Share this article

On the exact date Donald Trump received a custom-made "peace prize" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration published an similarly flamboyant security policy document. This relatively brief paper drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically humble claim that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of disaster and disaster."

Even though the strategy mostly formalizes the current actions and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a serious caution for the world, and for the European continent in particular.

A Strategy of Intervention and Cultural Anxiety

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its language seems lifted directly from addresses 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-assurance." Even more worryingly, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the genuine and starker possibility of cultural extinction."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is imbued with generations of European far-right dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and causing strife, suppression of free expression and stifling of dissent, cratering birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-belief." Per the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether some European countries will have economies and militaries 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, freedom of expression, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Core Theories of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry strong overtones of two concepts seen as core for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose argument 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 "Le Grand Remplacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "indigenous" populations and import a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to intervene 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 national spirit, and the growing clout of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US believes that it is essential to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the sole movement that can achieve this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating opposition 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 reclaim their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on methods, it is obvious that a priority is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical 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 normalise 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 evidently does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy takes its inspiration less from the glorified US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to interfere in the "Americas," which he proclaimed 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 entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – consider JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is published in an official document, European leaders will at last understand that the stance is serious. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in plain and succinct terms: the current US government believes that its national security is best served by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not just an reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to respond accordingly.