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On the exact date Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an equally ostentatious security policy document. This relatively brief paper is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest claim that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of disaster and disaster."

Even though the document largely formalizes the current policies and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a grave caution for the international community, and for the European continent in particular.

A Blueprint of Interference and Cultural Fear

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its rhetoric seems lifted straight from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." More ominously, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the real and more stark possibility of civilizational erasure."

The entire section on Europe is steeped in generations of European right-wing dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and creating strife, suppression of free speech and stifling of dissent, cratering birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-belief." Per the document, if "present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether some European countries will have economic power and militaries powerful enough to be dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and proud celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Core Ideas of the Far Right

These arguments carry strong overtones of two concepts regarded as core for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument on the inevitable fall of civilizations was employed by the German far right to criticise the "decadence" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "native" populations and import a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is evident where it sees its allies: "The United States encourages its ideological partners in Europe to promote this revival of national spirit, and the increasing clout of nationalist European parties in fact 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 only movement that can achieve this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "aligned countries that want to reclaim their former greatness" – 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, more aligned with the US model – especially regarding right-wing speech – and not just on 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.

A Historical Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the glorified US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to interfere in the "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "assert and enforce a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect 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 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 stance is serious. 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 only an reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to act appropriately.