🔗 Share this article

On the very day Donald Trump received a custom-made "peace prize" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an equally ostentatious national security strategy. This fairly short 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 brink of disaster and disaster."

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

A Blueprint of Intervention and Civilizational Fear

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its rhetoric could have been lifted straight from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to regain its cultural self-assurance." Even more ominously, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the real and more stark possibility of cultural extinction."

The entire section on Europe is imbued with generations of European right-wing dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free speech and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-confidence." 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 be dependable 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, free speech, and proud commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Foundational Ideas of the Right-Wing

These points carry powerful echoes of two theories seen as foundational for modern right-wing 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 attack the "decadence" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "indigenous" populations and import a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream contained in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "America urges its political allies in Europe to advance this revival of national spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

Put simply, the US believes that it is essential 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 "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 restore their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains vague on implementation, it is apparent that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping 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 "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 enemy either.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy takes its inspiration less from the glorified US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy 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 "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is necessarily new – consider JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps 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 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 demise of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not just an reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to act accordingly.