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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 flamboyant security policy document. This fairly brief report is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically humble assertion that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the document largely codifies the current actions and statements of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a serious warning for the world, and for Europe specifically.

A Strategy of Interference and Cultural Fear

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its rhetoric could have been taken straight from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." More worryingly, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of cultural extinction."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is imbued with decades of European right-wing dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free speech and suppression of dissent, cratering birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-belief." According to the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether certain European countries will have economies and armed forces strong enough to remain reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, free speech, and proud commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Foundational Theories of the Far Right

These points carry powerful echoes of two theories regarded as foundational for contemporary right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose argument on the inevitable fall of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise the "decadence" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "native" populations and bring in a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is evident where it sees 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 indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

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 only movement that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating resistance to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "nations in agreement that want to reclaim their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on implementation, it is obvious that a priority is to pressure 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 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 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. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to meddle in the "Americas," which he declared 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 protect US national interests.

This is necessarily new – consider JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will finally realize that the situation is serious. 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 best served 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.