🔗 Share this article

On the exact day Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government published an similarly flamboyant security policy document. This fairly short paper is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically humble assertion that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the document largely formalizes the ongoing policies and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a serious caution for the world, and for Europe specifically.

A Strategy of Intervention and Civilizational Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its rhetoric could have been lifted straight from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to reclaim its cultural self-confidence." Even more worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the genuine and starker possibility of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with decades of European right-wing ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free speech and stifling of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-belief." 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 remain dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion authentic democracy, free speech, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Core Ideas of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong overtones of two theories seen as foundational for contemporary right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise the "decadence" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" populations and import a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy encapsulated 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 encourages its ideological partners in Europe to advance this resurgence of national spirit, and the increasing clout of patriotic European parties indeed 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 achieve this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "fostering resistance to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning 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 remains unclear on methods, it is obvious that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – especially regarding far-right speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalise 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 evidently does not regard Russia as an adversary either.

An Ideological Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the idealized US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to interfere in the "western hemisphere," which he declared to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document vows 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 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 realize that the stance is grave. And if the document is too lengthy 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 destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not just an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to act appropriately.