America: More Than Just the Continent's Unwilling Ally, But a Foe Steeped in Far-Right Ideology

On the very date Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an equally ostentatious security policy document. This relatively brief report drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically humble claim that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of catastrophe and disaster."

Even though the strategy mostly formalizes the current policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a serious warning for the world, and for Europe specifically.

A Blueprint of Intervention and Civilizational Fear

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

The whole section on Europe is imbued with generations of European right-wing ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and creating strife, censorship of free speech and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-confidence." According to the document, if "present trends 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 militaries strong enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to stand up for authentic democracy, free speech, and proud celebrations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Core Ideas of the Right-Wing

These points carry powerful overtones of two concepts regarded as core for modern 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 "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiracy theory, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "native" populations and import 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 interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "America encourages its political allies in Europe to advance this revival of national spirit, and the increasing influence of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US contends 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 "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "fostering resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "building up the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "aligned countries that want to reclaim their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains vague on methods, it is apparent that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – especially regarding right-wing speech – and not just on 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 evidently does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological Precedent: 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 warned European powers not to interfere in the "western hemisphere," which he proclaimed to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "implement a Trump corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect 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 ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is published in an formal document, European leaders will finally 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 holds that its national security is best served 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 accordingly.