America: More Than Just the Continent's Unwilling Partner, But Rather a Adversary Rooted in Right-Wing Ideology

On the exact day Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government published an equally flamboyant security policy document. This fairly brief report is saturated with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically humble assertion that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of catastrophe and disaster."

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

A Blueprint of Interference and Cultural Fear

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US explicitly sets the goal of "promoting European greatness." Its rhetoric could have been taken directly from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." More ominously, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the genuine and starker possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is imbued with generations of European far-right dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "transforming the continent and creating conflict, suppression of free speech and stifling of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-confidence." Per the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether some European countries will have economies and armed forces strong enough to be dependable allies." In fact, 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 stand up for genuine democracy, free speech, and unapologetic commemorations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Foundational Theories of the Far Right

These arguments carry powerful overtones of two theories seen as core for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose thesis on the inevitable fall of civilizations was used 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 transformed long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to replace restive "indigenous" populations and bring in a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "America encourages its ideological partners in Europe to promote this resurgence of national spirit, and the increasing clout of patriotic 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 "Make Europe great again," and that the European far right is the only movement that can achieve this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "fostering opposition to Europe’s present path within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the healthy 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 unclear on implementation, it is obvious that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – particularly regarding right-wing speech – and not just on 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 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 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 corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – consider JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is published in an official document, European leaders will at last understand that the stance is grave. And if the document is too lengthy or vague for them, it can be condensed in clear and succinct terms: the current US government holds that its national security is most enhanced by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. It is time to act appropriately.