🔗 Share this article

On the very day Donald Trump received a custom-made "peace prize" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration released an similarly flamboyant national security strategy. This relatively brief report drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically humble assertion that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the strategy mostly codifies the current policies and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a serious warning for the world, and for Europe specifically.

A Blueprint of Interference and Cultural Fear

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its rhetoric could have been taken directly from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to regain its civilizational self-confidence." Even more worryingly, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the real and starker prospect of civilizational erasure."

The entire section on Europe is steeped in generations of European far-right dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and creating strife, suppression of free speech and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-confidence." Per 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 economies and militaries powerful enough to be dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes 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’ unique heritage and history."

Foundational Ideas of the Right-Wing

These points carry powerful echoes of two theories seen as core for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose argument 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 "Le Grand Remplacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "indigenous" populations and import a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream contained in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "The United States encourages its political allies in Europe to advance this revival of national spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US believes that it is essential to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the sole movement that can achieve this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy 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 reclaim their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on methods, it is apparent that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to 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 "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 adversary either.

An Ideological 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 1823 policy 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 addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "enlisting" 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 assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe 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 lengthy or vague for them, it can be summarised in clear and concise terms: the current US government believes that its national security is most enhanced by the demise 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.