🔗 Share this article

On the exact date Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government published an similarly flamboyant national security strategy. This relatively short report is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest claim that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the edge of disaster and ruin."

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

A Strategy of Intervention and Cultural Fear

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its rhetoric seems lifted straight from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to regain its civilizational self-confidence." More ominously, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the real and starker prospect of civilizational erasure."

The entire section dedicated to 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 causing conflict, suppression of free speech and stifling of political opposition, 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 some European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to be dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and proud celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and past."

Foundational Theories of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong echoes of two theories regarded as foundational for contemporary right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was employed by the German far right to criticise the "perversion" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace restive "indigenous" populations and bring in a more docile and reliant electorate.

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

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, the US believes that it is key to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the sole movement that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "fostering opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "nations in agreement that want to restore their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains unclear 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 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 evidently does not regard 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 glorified US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this warned European powers not to meddle in the "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "implement a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

This is necessarily new – recall JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an ideological attack 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 imprecise for them, it can be summarised in clear and concise terms: the current US government holds that its national security is best served by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to respond appropriately.