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On the very day Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "award for peace" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an equally ostentatious security policy document. This fairly brief paper is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically humble assertion that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of disaster and disaster."

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

A Blueprint of Intervention and Cultural Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its language seems taken straight from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for 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 possibility of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with generations of European right-wing dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, suppression of free speech and suppression of dissent, cratering birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-confidence." According to the document, if "present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether some European countries will have economies and militaries powerful enough to remain dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, free speech, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Foundational Ideas of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry strong echoes of two theories seen as core for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the inevitable fall of civilizations was used by the German far right to attack 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 "native" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" populations and import a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "America encourages its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of spirit, and the increasing clout of patriotic European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, 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" focuses on "fostering resistance to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "nations in agreement that want to reclaim their past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains vague on methods, it is obvious that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – especially regarding right-wing speech – and not limited to social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the idealized US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to meddle in the "western hemisphere," which he declared to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

This is entirely 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 maybe now that it is laid out in an formal document, European leaders will at last realize that the situation is serious. And if the document is too lengthy or vague for them, it can be summarised in plain 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 just an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to respond appropriately.