The US: Not Merely the Continent's Unwilling Ally, But Rather a Foe Steeped in Far-Right Thought

On the exact day Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration published an similarly flamboyant national security strategy. This fairly short paper drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically humble claim that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of catastrophe and ruin."

Even though the document largely codifies the current policies and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a serious warning for the world, and for Europe specifically.

A Strategy of Intervention and Cultural Fear

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European greatness." Its language seems lifted directly from speeches by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to regain its civilizational self-assurance." More ominously, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the genuine and more stark possibility of civilizational erasure."

The entire section on Europe is imbued with generations of European far-right dogma and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and creating strife, censorship of free expression and suppression of dissent, cratering birthrates, and loss of national identities 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 certain European countries will have economic power and armed forces powerful enough to remain reliable allies." Indeed, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion authentic democracy, free speech, and proud commemorations of European nations’ individual character and past."

Core Theories of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry strong overtones of two theories regarded as foundational for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose thesis on the cyclical decline of civilizations was employed by the German far right to criticise the "perversion" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to replace rebellious "native" populations and bring in a more docile and reliant electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy encapsulated in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is evident where it identifies its allies: "America urges its political allies in Europe to promote this revival of spirit, and the growing influence of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Make Europe Great Again"

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 movement that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "fostering resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "building up the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "nations in agreement that want to restore their past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on methods, it is apparent that a key aim is to push Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – especially regarding far-right 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 explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not regard 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 Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to meddle in the "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document vows to "assert and enforce a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help safeguard 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 assault 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 serious. And if the document is too long or imprecise 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 destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an reluctant ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to act appropriately.