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On the very day Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "peace prize" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government published an equally ostentatious security policy document. This relatively brief paper is saturated 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 edge of disaster and disaster."

Even though the document largely codifies the current policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a serious warning for the world, and for Europe specifically.

A Blueprint of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its rhetoric could have been taken 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-confidence." Even more worryingly, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the real and more stark possibility 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 held responsible for "changing the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free expression and suppression of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-belief." According to the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether some European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and proud commemorations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Foundational Ideas of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry powerful overtones of two concepts seen as foundational for modern far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose argument on the cyclical decline of civilizations was used by the German far right to attack the "perversion" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," 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 replace rebellious "native" populations and import a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream encapsulated 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 ideological partners in Europe to advance this resurgence of national spirit, and the increasing influence of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Make Europe Great Again"

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. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating resistance to Europe’s present path 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 reclaim their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on implementation, it is apparent that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – particularly regarding far-right speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalize relations with Russia; or, as the document calls it, to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not regard Russia as an adversary 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 Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Articulated 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 vows to "assert and enforce 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 unleashed an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an official document, European leaders will at last realize that the stance is grave. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be summarised in plain and succinct 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 unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to act appropriately.