🔗 Share this article

On the very day Donald Trump received a tailor-made "peace prize" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration released an equally ostentatious security policy document. This fairly short paper drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically modest assertion that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of disaster and disaster."

Even though the document mostly codifies the ongoing policies and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a grave warning for the international community, and for Europe in particular.

A Blueprint of Interference and Cultural Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its rhetoric seems lifted straight from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." Even more ominously, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the genuine and more stark possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section on Europe is steeped in generations of European right-wing ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and creating strife, censorship of free expression and suppression of dissent, cratering birthrates, and loss of national identities 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 certain European countries will have economies and militaries powerful enough to be dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to champion authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and proud commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Foundational Ideas of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry strong echoes of two concepts regarded as foundational for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the inevitable fall of civilizations was employed by the German far right to attack the "decadence" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "native" populations and bring in a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "America urges its political allies in Europe to promote this revival of national spirit, and the growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, the US believes that it is essential to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the sole political force that can achieve this. Therefore, its "broad policy 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 reclaim their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains unclear on methods, 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 – 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 treat Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, 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 cautioned European powers not to interfere in the "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "assert and enforce a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will finally realize that the stance is serious. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be summarised in plain and concise terms: the current US government believes that its national security is best served by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not just an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to act appropriately.