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On the very day Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "peace prize" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an equally ostentatious security policy document. This fairly brief report is saturated with the essence of 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 disaster and disaster."

Even though the document largely formalizes the ongoing actions and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a grave caution for the international community, and for the European continent specifically.

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its language seems taken directly from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to regain its civilizational self-confidence." More ominously, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the genuine and starker prospect of civilizational erasure."

The entire section on Europe is imbued with generations of European far-right ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and creating strife, suppression of free expression and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-confidence." According to the document, if "present trends 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 strong enough to be dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to stand up for authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and proud commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Core Ideas of the Far Right

These arguments carry strong echoes of two theories seen as core for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose thesis on the inevitable fall 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," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "native" populations and import a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy contained in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to interfere 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 spirit, and the increasing influence 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 political force that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating 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" – in particular "nations in agreement that want to reclaim their former greatness" – 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 sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – especially regarding far-right speech – and not limited to 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 evidently does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy takes its inspiration less from the glorified US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Articulated 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 promises to "assert and enforce a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails 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 launched an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will finally understand that the stance is grave. And if the document is too long or vague 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 demise of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not just an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to respond appropriately.