🔗 Share this article

On the exact day Donald Trump received a custom-made "peace prize" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration published an similarly flamboyant security policy document. This fairly brief paper drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest assertion that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the document largely formalizes the current actions and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a serious caution for the international community, and for the European continent specifically.

A Blueprint of Intervention and Cultural Anxiety

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its rhetoric 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 reclaim its cultural self-assurance." More ominously, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is imbued with decades of European right-wing dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free speech and stifling of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-belief." According to 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 economic power and militaries strong enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Foundational Theories of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry strong echoes of two concepts regarded as foundational for contemporary right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose thesis on the cyclical decline 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 "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "indigenous" populations and bring in a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "The United States urges its political allies in Europe to advance this revival of spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US believes 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 current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up the robust 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 stays 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 just on 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 clearly 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 glorified US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this cautioned 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 addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is necessarily 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 maybe now that it is laid out in an official document, European leaders will finally realize that the situation is grave. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be summarised in clear and concise terms: the current US government believes that its national security is most enhanced by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to respond appropriately.