🔗 Share this article

On the exact day Donald Trump received a custom-made "peace prize" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an equally ostentatious national security strategy. This relatively short report is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically humble claim that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of disaster and ruin."

Even though the strategy largely formalizes the current policies and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a serious caution for the international community, and for Europe specifically.

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Fear

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its language could have been lifted straight from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to regain its cultural self-assurance." Even more ominously, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and starker prospect of cultural extinction."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is steeped in generations of European far-right ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and causing strife, censorship of free expression and stifling of dissent, cratering birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-confidence." Per the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economic power and militaries powerful enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion authentic democracy, free speech, and proud commemorations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Foundational Ideas of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry powerful overtones of two concepts seen as foundational for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument on the inevitable fall of civilizations was employed by the German far right to attack the "perversion" and "weakness" 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 conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" populations and bring in a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "The United States urges its political allies in Europe to promote this resurgence of spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US believes that it is key to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the sole political force that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "fostering opposition to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "aligned countries that want to restore their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains unclear on methods, it is obvious that a priority is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping 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 normalize relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases it, to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not regard Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the idealized US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Articulated 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 vows to "assert and enforce a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

None of 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 maybe now that it is laid out in an official document, European leaders will at last understand that the situation is serious. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be summarised in plain and succinct terms: the current US government believes that its national security is best served by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to act appropriately.