🔗 Share this article

On the exact date Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "award for peace" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration published an equally ostentatious security policy document. This fairly brief paper drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically modest assertion that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the strategy largely codifies the current actions and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a serious caution for the world, and for the European continent specifically.

A Strategy of Interference and Cultural Fear

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its language seems lifted straight from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." More ominously, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the genuine and more stark possibility of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is steeped in generations of European far-right ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free speech and stifling of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity and self-confidence." 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 armed forces strong enough to be dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration asserts that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion genuine democracy, free speech, and proud commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Foundational Theories of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong overtones 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 inevitable fall of civilizations was employed by the German far right to attack the "decadence" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "indigenous" populations and bring in a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "The United States urges its ideological partners in Europe to advance this resurgence of spirit, and the increasing clout of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US believes that it is essential to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the only political force that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating opposition to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries that want to reclaim their former greatness" – such as 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 limited to social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document calls it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the glorified US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this warned 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 corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard US national interests.

This is necessarily new – recall JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is laid out in an official document, European leaders will finally understand that the situation is grave. And if the document is too lengthy or imprecise for them, it can be condensed 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 just an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to respond accordingly.