🔗 Share this article

On the very day Donald Trump received a custom-made "peace prize" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an equally flamboyant national security strategy. This relatively short report drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically humble assertion that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the strategy mostly formalizes the current policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a grave caution for the world, and for Europe in particular.

A Strategy of Interference and Cultural Fear

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its rhetoric could have been lifted directly from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to regain its cultural self-confidence." More ominously, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with generations of European far-right dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and causing strife, censorship of free expression and stifling of dissent, cratering birthrates, and erosion 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 far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economic power and armed forces powerful enough to remain reliable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years 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 celebrations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Foundational Theories of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong echoes of two theories regarded as core for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose thesis on the inevitable fall 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," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "indigenous" populations and bring in a more submissive and dependent 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 clear where it sees its allies: "America urges its ideological partners in Europe to promote this revival of spirit, and the growing clout of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US believes that it is key to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the only movement that can achieve this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "fostering 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 "aligned countries that want to restore their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains vague on methods, it is apparent that a priority is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – especially regarding far-right speech – and not just on 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 directly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not regard Russia as an enemy either.

A Historical 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 declared 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 entails the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is necessarily new – consider JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is laid out in an formal document, European leaders will at last realize that the stance is serious. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be condensed in clear and succinct terms: the current US government believes that its national security is most enhanced by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not just an reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to respond appropriately.