America: More Than Just the Continent's Reluctant Ally, But Rather a Adversary Steeped in Right-Wing Thought

On the exact date Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his recent friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government released an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This fairly brief report drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically humble claim that the president has rescued "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 heeded as a grave caution for the international community, and for the European continent in particular.

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document advocates for an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its rhetoric seems lifted straight from speeches by Viktor Orbán during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." Even more worryingly, the document states that Europe's "economic decline is overshadowed by the real and starker possibility of cultural extinction."

The entire section on Europe is steeped in generations of European right-wing dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and creating strife, suppression of free expression and suppression of dissent, cratering 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 some European countries will have economies and militaries powerful enough to remain reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration asserts 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 history."

Core Ideas of the Far Right

These arguments carry powerful overtones of two concepts regarded as foundational for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the inevitable fall of civilizations was employed by the German far right to criticise the "decadence" 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 explicit conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "indigenous" populations and bring in a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "America urges its ideological partners in Europe to advance this resurgence of spirit, and the increasing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, the US contends that it is key to its national security to "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the sole political force that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating opposition to Europe’s present path within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "building up the healthy 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 stays unclear on methods, it is obvious that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – especially regarding far-right speech – and not limited to social media. Another is to normalize relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases it, to "restore 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.

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 1823 policy of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to meddle in the "western hemisphere," which he proclaimed to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "implement a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "recruiting" 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 unleashed an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will at last realize that the situation 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 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. Now is time to respond accordingly.