The US: Not Merely Europe's Unwilling Ally, But a Foe Steeped in Right-Wing Thought

On the exact date Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an equally flamboyant national security strategy. This relatively short paper drips with the essence of Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically humble assertion that the president has brought back "the United States and the globe – back from the brink of disaster and disaster."

Even though the strategy largely formalizes the current policies and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a grave warning for the international community, and for the European continent specifically.

A Blueprint of Interference and Civilizational Fear

The document espouses an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its language seems taken directly from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "We want Europe to remain European, to regain its civilizational self-confidence." More worryingly, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the genuine and starker prospect of civilizational erasure."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is imbued with generations of European right-wing ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are held responsible for "changing the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free speech and suppression of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-confidence." According to the document, if "current trajectories 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 dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "within a few decades at the latest, some NATO members will become predominantly non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion authentic democracy, free speech, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Core Theories of the Far Right

These arguments carry strong echoes of two theories regarded as core for modern far-right circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument on the cyclical decline of civilizations was employed by the German far right to attack the "perversion" and "weakness" 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 conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "native" populations and import a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is evident where it sees its allies: "America encourages its political allies in Europe to advance this resurgence of national spirit, and the increasing influence of nationalist European parties in fact gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

Put simply, 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 political force that can accomplish this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating opposition to Europe’s present path within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "building up the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "nations in agreement that want to reclaim their past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays unclear on implementation, it is obvious 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 limited to 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 directly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not treat Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy takes its inspiration 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 interfere in the "western hemisphere," which he declared 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 involves the US "recruiting" 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 perhaps now that it is laid out in an official document, European leaders will finally understand that the situation is serious. And if the document is too long or imprecise for them, it can be condensed in clear 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 unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. Now is time to respond accordingly.