America: More Than Just the Continent's Unwilling Partner, But Rather a Foe Steeped in Far-Right Thought

On the very date Donald Trump received a tailor-made "peace prize" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government published an similarly ostentatious national security strategy. This fairly brief report is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically modest assertion that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of disaster and ruin."

Even though the strategy mostly formalizes the ongoing actions and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a grave warning for the world, and for Europe specifically.

A Blueprint of Intervention and Cultural Fear

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language seems lifted directly 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-confidence." Even more ominously, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and more stark prospect of cultural extinction."

The whole section on Europe is steeped in decades of European far-right dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, suppression of free speech and stifling of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-belief." Per the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and armed forces strong enough to remain reliable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and proud commemorations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Foundational Ideas of the Right-Wing

These points carry powerful echoes of two concepts regarded as core for contemporary far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose argument on the inevitable fall of civilizations was employed by the German far right to criticise the "perversion" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "native" populations and bring in a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist 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 sees its allies: "The United States urges its ideological partners in Europe to promote this resurgence of spirit, and the growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, the US believes that it is key to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the sole movement that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "aligned countries that want to restore their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains unclear on implementation, it is apparent that a key aim is to push Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – particularly regarding far-right speech – and not limited to social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases 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 adversary either.

An Ideological Precedent: 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 corollary" 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 – consider JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will at last realize that the stance is serious. And if the document is too lengthy or imprecise for them, it can be summarised in plain and concise terms: the current US government believes that its national security is most enhanced by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to respond appropriately.