🔗 Share this article

On the exact date Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government published an equally flamboyant national security strategy. This fairly brief report drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically modest claim that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of disaster and disaster."

Even though the strategy mostly codifies the ongoing actions and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a serious warning for the international community, and for the European continent in particular.

A Strategy of Intervention and Cultural Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its rhetoric could have been taken straight from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to reclaim its cultural self-assurance." Even more worryingly, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the genuine and starker possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section on Europe is steeped in generations of European right-wing dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and causing strife, suppression of free speech and suppression of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of national identities and self-confidence." Per the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether some European countries will have economic power and militaries powerful enough to be reliable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

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

Core Theories of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong overtones of two concepts regarded as core for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," 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 "Le Grand Remplacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "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 obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "The United States encourages its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of national spirit, and the increasing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "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 accomplish 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 healthy 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 remains vague on methods, it is obvious that a key aim 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 "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly 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 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 meddle in the "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s zone of influence. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is entirely new – consider JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is laid out in an formal document, European leaders will at last understand that the stance is grave. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be condensed in plain and concise terms: the current US government holds 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 willing adversary. Now is time to respond appropriately.