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On the exact date Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This relatively short paper is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest assertion that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of disaster and disaster."

Even though the document largely codifies the ongoing policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a serious caution for the international community, and for Europe in particular.

A Strategy of Intervention and Cultural Fear

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language could have been taken straight from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." Even more ominously, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the real and more stark possibility of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is steeped in decades of European right-wing dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and creating strife, suppression of free expression and suppression of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-belief." According to 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 strong enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, 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, free speech, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Core Ideas of the Far Right

These points carry strong echoes of two theories seen as core for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise the "perversion" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace restive "indigenous" populations and import a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream contained 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 sees its allies: "America urges its political allies in Europe to advance this revival of spirit, and the increasing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

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 accomplish this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating resistance 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" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains unclear on implementation, it is apparent that a key aim is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – particularly regarding right-wing 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 directly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

A Historical 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. Articulated by President James Monroe, this cautioned 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 promises to "implement a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

None of this is necessarily new – consider JD Vance’s address 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 formal document, European leaders will at last understand that the stance is serious. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in clear and concise terms: the current US government holds that its national security is most enhanced by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to act accordingly.