🔗 Share this article

On the very date Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "peace prize" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an similarly flamboyant security policy document. This relatively brief paper is saturated 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 mostly codifies the current policies and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a grave caution for the world, and for Europe in particular.

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its language could have been lifted directly from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to regain its civilizational self-confidence." Even more worryingly, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the real and more stark possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section on Europe is steeped in generations of European far-right dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free expression and suppression of dissent, cratering birthrates, and erosion of national identities 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 economic power and militaries strong enough to be dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes 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, free speech, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Core Ideas of the Far Right

These points carry strong overtones 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 cyclical decline of civilizations was employed by the German far right to attack the "perversion" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" populations and import a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "The United States encourages its ideological partners in Europe to promote this revival 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. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "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 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 just on 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 clearly does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

A Historical 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 1823 policy of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to interfere 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 entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

None of 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 published in an official document, European leaders will at last understand that the stance is serious. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be summarised in plain and succinct terms: the current US government holds that its national security is best served by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to act appropriately.