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On the very date Donald Trump received a custom-made "peace prize" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an equally ostentatious security policy document. This relatively short report drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically modest claim that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of disaster and ruin."

Even though the document largely formalizes the current actions and statements of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a serious warning for the world, and for the European continent specifically.

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its rhetoric seems taken directly from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." More ominously, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the genuine and starker possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with generations of European right-wing dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free expression and stifling of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-belief." Per 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 economies and militaries strong enough to be dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion genuine democracy, free speech, and proud commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Core Ideas of the Far Right

These arguments carry powerful echoes of two theories seen as foundational 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 employed 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, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" populations and import a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that grants 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: "The United States urges its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of national spirit, and the growing clout of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

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 accomplish this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory 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 past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague 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 phrases 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 enemy either.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the glorified US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to meddle in the "western hemisphere," 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 involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

This is entirely 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 maybe now that it is laid out in an formal document, European leaders will finally understand that the situation is grave. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be summarised in clear and concise terms: the current US government holds that its national security is most enhanced by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not just an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to respond accordingly.