🔗 Share this article

On the very date Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This fairly brief paper drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest assertion that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the document largely codifies the current actions and statements of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a serious warning for the international community, and for Europe in particular.

A Blueprint of Intervention and Civilizational Fear

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language seems lifted straight 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-assurance." More worryingly, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the genuine and more stark prospect of cultural extinction."

The entire section on Europe is imbued with decades of European right-wing ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and causing strife, suppression of free speech and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-confidence." Per the document, if "present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries powerful enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and proud celebrations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Foundational Ideas of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong echoes of two concepts regarded as foundational for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose thesis on the inevitable fall of civilizations was used by the German far right to attack 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 conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "native" populations and bring in a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "America urges its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of national spirit, and the increasing clout of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

Put simply, 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 "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating opposition to Europe’s present path within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "aligned countries that want to restore their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains vague on methods, it is obvious that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to 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 calls it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical Blueprint: 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 Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to meddle in the "western hemisphere," which he proclaimed 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 entails the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an assault 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 lengthy or vague for them, it can be summarised in plain and concise terms: the current US government holds that its national security is best served by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not just an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to act accordingly.