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On the exact day Donald Trump received a tailor-made "peace prize" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government released an equally flamboyant 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 brink of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the document largely codifies the ongoing actions and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a grave warning for the world, and for the European continent specifically.

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Fear

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its rhetoric could have been lifted straight from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." Even more ominously, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and starker possibility of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is steeped in generations of European right-wing ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, suppression of free expression and stifling of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-belief." According to 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 militaries powerful enough to be reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

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

Core Theories of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry powerful echoes of two concepts seen as core for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose argument 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 translated long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace restive "indigenous" populations and import a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "America urges its ideological partners in Europe to promote this resurgence of spirit, and the growing influence 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 "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the sole movement that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "fostering resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "aligned countries that want to restore their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains unclear on implementation, it is obvious that a key aim is to push Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – especially regarding right-wing speech – and not limited to social media. Another is to normalize relations with Russia; or, as the document calls it, to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not regard Russia as an enemy either.

A Historical Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy takes its inspiration less from the idealized US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to meddle in the "western hemisphere," which he declared to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "assert and enforce a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is necessarily new – consider JD Vance’s speech 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 realize that the situation is grave. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be summarised in plain and concise terms: the current US government holds that its national security is best served by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not just an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to respond appropriately.