America: More Than Just Europe's Unwilling Partner, But Rather a Foe Steeped in Right-Wing Thought

On the very day Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "award for peace" from his recent ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration released an equally flamboyant security policy document. This relatively short paper drips with the essence of 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 ruin."

Even though the strategy mostly formalizes the ongoing actions and statements of Trump and his cabinet, it must be taken as a grave warning for the international community, and for the European continent specifically.

A Blueprint of Intervention and Cultural Fear

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its rhetoric seems lifted straight from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "We want Europe to stay European, to reclaim its cultural self-assurance." More ominously, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the real and starker prospect of civilizational erasure."

The whole section on Europe is imbued with generations of European far-right ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and causing strife, censorship of free expression and suppression of dissent, cratering birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-belief." According to the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether some European countries will have economies and armed forces powerful enough to remain dependable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Foundational Ideas of the Far Right

These arguments carry powerful echoes of two concepts regarded as core for modern 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 "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "native" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "indigenous" populations and import a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to interfere in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "The United States encourages its ideological partners in Europe to promote this revival of national spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US believes 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. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "fostering opposition to Europe’s present path within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "strengthening the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "nations in agreement that want to reclaim their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains vague 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 – particularly regarding right-wing speech – and not limited to social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases 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 enemy either.

A Historical Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the idealized US of the 1950s and more from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Proclaimed by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to meddle in the "Americas," which he declared 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 entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is entirely new – recall JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will at last understand that the stance is serious. And if the document is too lengthy or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in plain and succinct 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 reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to act appropriately.