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On the exact date Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "peace prize" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration published an equally flamboyant security policy document. This relatively short paper drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically modest claim that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of disaster and disaster."

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

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its language could have been taken straight from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to regain its civilizational self-confidence." More ominously, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the genuine and starker possibility of cultural extinction."

The entire section on Europe is imbued with decades of European right-wing 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 dissent, cratering birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-confidence." Per 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 armed forces powerful enough to be reliable 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, free speech, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Foundational Ideas of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong overtones of two concepts seen as core for modern far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," 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 explicit conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" populations and import a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "America encourages its ideological partners in Europe to promote this resurgence of spirit, and the increasing clout of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US contends that it is essential to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the sole movement that can achieve this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "fostering resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as 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" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on implementation, it is apparent 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 "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not treat Russia as an enemy 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 "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "assert and enforce a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is laid out in an official document, European leaders will finally realize that the stance is serious. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be condensed in clear and succinct terms: the current US government holds that its national security is most enhanced by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not just an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to act accordingly.