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On the exact date Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "peace prize" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government published an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This fairly short report is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically modest claim that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the document largely formalizes the current actions and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a serious warning for the international community, and for the European continent in particular.

A Blueprint of Interference and Civilizational Fear

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its rhetoric seems lifted directly from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." Even more ominously, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and more stark prospect of cultural extinction."

The entire section dedicated to 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 creating conflict, censorship of free speech and stifling of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-confidence." According to the document, if "current trajectories 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 armed forces powerful enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion genuine democracy, free speech, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Core Ideas of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong echoes of two theories regarded as foundational for modern 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 attack the "decadence" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "native" populations and import a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it sees its allies: "The United States encourages its political allies in Europe to promote this resurgence of national spirit, and the increasing influence of nationalist 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. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "nations in agreement that want to restore their past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains vague on methods, it is apparent 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 limited to social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document calls it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not regard Russia as an enemy either.

A Historical Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy takes its inspiration 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 "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard 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 maybe now that it is laid out in an formal document, European leaders will finally 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 best served by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to act accordingly.