On the exact day Donald Trump received a custom-made "peace prize" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his administration released an similarly ostentatious national security strategy. This relatively short report 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 edge of disaster and ruin."
Even though the document largely formalizes the ongoing policies and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a grave warning for the world, and for Europe specifically.
The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its language could have been taken directly from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to reclaim its civilizational self-confidence." Even more worryingly, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the real and more stark possibility of civilizational erasure."
The whole section dedicated to Europe is steeped in generations of European right-wing ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and creating strife, censorship of free speech and stifling of political opposition, plummeting birthrates, and loss of sovereign identity 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 economic power and armed forces strong enough to remain reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become predominantly non-European."
"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion authentic democracy, free speech, and proud commemorations of European nations’ individual character and history."
These points carry powerful overtones of two concepts regarded as core for contemporary right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument on the inevitable fall 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 translated long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace restive "native" populations and bring in a more submissive and dependent electorate.
It is the nativist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "America encourages 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."
Put simply, the US contends that it is essential to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the only political force that can accomplish this. Consequently, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "aligned countries that want to reclaim their past glory" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.
While the document remains unclear on implementation, it is obvious that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – particularly regarding right-wing speech – and not limited to 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.
In a broader sense, the national security strategy draws its ideas 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 "western hemisphere," which he declared 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 "recruiting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect 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 perhaps now that it is laid out in an formal document, European leaders will finally realize that the stance is grave. And if the document is too lengthy or vague for them, it can be summarised in plain and concise terms: the current US government holds that its national security is most enhanced by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to act accordingly.
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