🔗 Share this article

On the exact date Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an equally ostentatious national security strategy. This fairly short paper drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically humble claim that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the document mostly codifies the current policies and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a grave warning for the international community, and for Europe specifically.

A Blueprint of Interference and Civilizational Fear

The document espouses an assertive 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 so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to regain its civilizational self-confidence." Even more ominously, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the real and starker possibility of cultural extinction."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is steeped in generations of European right-wing ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, suppression of free speech and suppression of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-belief." According to 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 armed forces strong enough to be reliable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years 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 commemorations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Foundational Ideas of the Right-Wing

These points carry powerful overtones of two theories seen as core for modern 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," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "indigenous" populations and import a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "America encourages its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

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 only political force that can achieve this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory 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 restore their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on methods, it is obvious that a priority is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – particularly 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 explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, 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 "western hemisphere," which he declared to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "implement a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is necessarily new – recall 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 published in an formal 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 condensed in plain and concise terms: the current US government believes that its national security is best served by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not just an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to act accordingly.