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On the exact date Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government released an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This relatively brief paper drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically humble claim that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of disaster and ruin."

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

A Blueprint of Intervention and Cultural Anxiety

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its language could have been lifted straight from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to regain its cultural self-confidence." More ominously, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the real and starker possibility of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is steeped in generations of European far-right dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and causing strife, censorship of free speech and stifling of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-belief." Per 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 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, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

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

Foundational Theories of the Right-Wing

These points carry powerful 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 employed by the German far right to criticise the "decadence" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "indigenous" populations and bring in a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy 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 clear where it sees its allies: "America encourages its political allies in Europe to promote this resurgence of national spirit, and the increasing influence of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, the US believes that it is key 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 "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory 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 remains unclear on methods, it is obvious that a priority is to push 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 "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly 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 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 warned European powers not to meddle in the "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s sphere of interest. 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 safeguard US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an official document, European leaders will finally understand that the stance is grave. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in clear and succinct terms: the current US government believes that its national security is most enhanced by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to act accordingly.