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On the very date Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "award for peace" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration released an equally flamboyant security policy document. This relatively short report is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically modest assertion that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of disaster and ruin."

Even though the document largely formalizes the ongoing 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 specifically.

A Blueprint of Interference and Cultural Fear

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its rhetoric seems lifted directly from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." More ominously, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the genuine and starker possibility of cultural extinction."

The entire section dedicated to Europe is steeped in decades of European far-right dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and causing strife, suppression of free speech and stifling of political opposition, cratering 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 not at all clear whether certain European countries will have economic power and militaries powerful enough to remain reliable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

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

Foundational Theories of the Far Right

These arguments carry powerful echoes of two theories regarded as core for modern far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose argument on the cyclical decline 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," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" populations and bring in a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "America urges its political allies in Europe to promote this revival of national spirit, and the increasing clout of patriotic European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, 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 "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "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 "aligned countries that want to reclaim their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains unclear on methods, it is obvious that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – particularly regarding far-right speech – and not limited to social media. Another is to normalize relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases it, to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not regard Russia as an adversary either.

An Ideological Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy takes its inspiration less from the idealized US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to interfere in the "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "assert and enforce a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is necessarily new – consider JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is laid out in an formal document, European leaders will at last realize that the stance is serious. And if the document is too lengthy or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in plain 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 only an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to respond appropriately.