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On the exact day Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government published an similarly flamboyant security policy document. This relatively brief report drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically humble assertion that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of disaster and ruin."

Even though the document mostly formalizes the ongoing policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a serious warning for the international community, and for the European continent specifically.

A Blueprint of Interference and Cultural Fear

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its rhetoric could have been taken directly from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to regain its cultural self-assurance." Even more worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the real and starker possibility of civilizational erasure."

The entire section on Europe is imbued with decades of European right-wing dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and creating conflict, suppression of free speech and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-belief." Per the document, if "current trajectories 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 armed forces powerful enough to be dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and past."

Foundational Ideas of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry strong echoes of two concepts regarded as core for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the inevitable fall of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise the "perversion" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "native" populations and bring in a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "America encourages its political allies in Europe to promote this resurgence of spirit, and the growing clout of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US contends 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. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating resistance to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "aligned countries that want to reclaim their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on implementation, it is obvious that a priority is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – especially regarding right-wing speech – and not limited to 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 treat Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy takes its inspiration 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 "Americas," which he declared to be the US’s sphere of interest. 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 protect US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – consider JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is laid out in an formal document, European leaders will at last understand that the situation is serious. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be summarised in plain and succinct terms: the current US government holds that its national security is most enhanced by the demise 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 accordingly.