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

On the exact day Donald Trump was presented with a tailor-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government released an equally flamboyant security policy document. This relatively short paper is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically humble claim that the president has rescued "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of catastrophe and ruin."

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

A Strategy of Intervention and Cultural Anxiety

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its rhetoric seems taken straight 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 regain its civilizational self-confidence." More worryingly, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the real and more stark possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is steeped in decades of European far-right ideology and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and erosion of national identities 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 not at all clear whether certain European countries will have economic power and militaries powerful enough to remain reliable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and proud commemorations of European nations’ individual character and history."

Core Theories of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong overtones of two concepts seen as foundational 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 "weakness" 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, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "native" populations and import a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "The United States encourages its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of spirit, and the increasing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

In other words, the US believes that it is key to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the only movement that can achieve 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" – in particular "aligned countries that want to restore their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains vague on methods, it is obvious that a priority is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – especially regarding right-wing speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document calls it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration evidently does not regard 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 glorified 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 "assert and enforce a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which involves the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is necessarily new – recall 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 laid out in an formal document, European leaders will finally understand 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 destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not only an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to act appropriately.