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On the exact day Donald Trump received a custom-made "peace prize" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an equally ostentatious national security strategy. This relatively brief report drips with pure 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 strategy largely codifies the current policies and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a grave caution for the international community, and for the European continent in particular.

A Blueprint of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its language seems lifted straight from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to reclaim its cultural self-assurance." Even more ominously, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the genuine and starker prospect of civilizational erasure."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with decades of European far-right ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free expression and stifling of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-confidence." According to the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to remain reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to stand up for authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Core Ideas of the Far Right

These points carry powerful overtones of two theories regarded 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 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 "native" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "indigenous" populations and bring in a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "The United States encourages its political allies in Europe to promote this revival of national spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US contends that it is key to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the sole political force that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "fostering resistance to Europe’s present path within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "building up the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "nations in agreement that want to reclaim their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains vague on methods, it is apparent that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – especially regarding far-right speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases it, to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

A Historical Precedent: 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 1823 policy of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to meddle in the "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is laid out in an official document, European leaders will at last understand that the situation is grave. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be condensed in plain 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 appropriately.