🔗 Share this article

On the exact day Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "peace prize" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an similarly flamboyant security policy document. This fairly short report is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically humble claim that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the strategy mostly codifies the ongoing actions and statements of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a grave warning for the international community, and for the European continent specifically.

A Blueprint of Intervention and Cultural Fear

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its language seems taken directly from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." More ominously, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the genuine and starker possibility of cultural extinction."

The entire section dedicated to Europe is imbued with generations of European right-wing ideology 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 dissent, plummeting birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-belief." According to the document, if "present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries powerful enough to be reliable allies." Indeed, 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, free speech, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Core Theories of the Far Right

These points carry powerful echoes of two concepts seen as core for contemporary right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," 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 "Le Grand Remplacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "indigenous" populations and bring in a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, 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 advance this revival of national spirit, and the growing clout of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, 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 accomplish this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating opposition 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 past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains vague on methods, it is apparent that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – particularly regarding far-right speech – and not just on 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 regard Russia as an enemy either.

A Historical Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy takes its inspiration less from the idealized US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to interfere in the "western hemisphere," 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 involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

This is necessarily new – consider JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is laid out in an official document, European leaders will at last realize that the stance is serious. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be condensed in plain 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 just an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to respond appropriately.