🔗 Share this article

On the exact day Donald Trump received a tailor-made "peace prize" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration published an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This fairly brief report drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically humble claim that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of disaster and disaster."

Even though the document mostly formalizes the current policies and rhetoric 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 Strategy of Intervention and Cultural Fear

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language could have been taken straight from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to reclaim its cultural self-confidence." Even more ominously, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and starker prospect of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with generations of European far-right ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free speech and stifling of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-confidence." Per the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economic power and militaries powerful enough to remain dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and past."

Foundational Theories of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry powerful echoes of two concepts regarded as core for contemporary right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis 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 "Le Grand Remplacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "indigenous" populations and import a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy contained 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 evident where it sees its allies: "The United States urges its political allies in Europe to promote this resurgence of national spirit, and the increasing clout of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US believes that it is key to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the sole political force that can achieve this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the healthy 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 remains unclear on implementation, it is apparent that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – particularly regarding far-right speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document calls 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 adversary 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. 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 "assert and enforce a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

None of this is necessarily new – recall JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will at last understand that the situation is grave. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be summarised in clear and concise terms: the current US government believes 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. Now is time to respond accordingly.