On the very date Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration released an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This relatively short paper is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically modest claim that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of disaster and disaster."
Even though the strategy largely formalizes the current actions and statements of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a serious caution for the world, and for the European continent in particular.
The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its language seems lifted straight from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to regain its cultural self-confidence." Even more worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and starker prospect of civilizational erasure."
The whole section dedicated to Europe is imbued with decades of European right-wing dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, suppression of free speech and stifling of dissent, cratering birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-confidence." Per 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 economic power and militaries powerful enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."
"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ individual character and history."
These points carry strong echoes 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 cyclical decline of civilizations was used by the German far right to attack the "perversion" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "indigenous" populations and import a more docile and dependent electorate.
It is the nationalist fantasy contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is evident where it sees its allies: "America urges its political allies in Europe to advance this revival of spirit, and the increasing influence of patriotic European parties in fact gives cause for great optimism."
Put simply, the US contends that it is essential to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the only political force that can accomplish this. Therefore, 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" – 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, closer to the US model – particularly regarding far-right speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalize relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not treat Russia as an enemy either.
In a wider context, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the glorified 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 "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 addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.
None of this is entirely new – consider JD Vance’s address 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 laid out in an formal 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 plain and concise terms: the current US government believes that its national security is best served by the destruction 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.
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