🔗 Share this article

On the exact day Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration published an equally flamboyant national security strategy. This relatively short report drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically humble assertion that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the document largely formalizes the current policies and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a serious caution for the international community, and for Europe specifically.

A Blueprint of Interference and Cultural Anxiety

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language seems lifted straight from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to regain its cultural self-assurance." More worryingly, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the real and more stark prospect of cultural extinction."

The entire section dedicated to Europe is imbued with generations of European right-wing dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and causing strife, suppression of free expression and stifling of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity 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 militaries powerful enough to be reliable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain 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’ unique heritage and past."

Core Ideas of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry powerful overtones of two theories regarded as core for contemporary 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 "The Great Replacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" populations and import a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it sees its allies: "America encourages its ideological partners in Europe to advance this resurgence of national spirit, and the increasing influence of patriotic 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 "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the only political force that can achieve this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the robust 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 vague on implementation, it is apparent that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – particularly regarding right-wing speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases it, to "restore 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.

A Historical Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, 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 "western hemisphere," which he declared to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

This is necessarily new – recall JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an official document, European leaders will finally realize that the stance is grave. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be summarised in clear and concise terms: the current US government holds that its national security is most enhanced by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to act accordingly.