America: More Than Just Europe's Reluctant Ally, But Rather a Adversary Rooted in Far-Right Thought

On the very date Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an equally ostentatious national security strategy. This relatively brief report drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the typically modest 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 mostly formalizes the ongoing policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a grave caution for the world, and for Europe specifically.

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Fear

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its rhetoric seems taken straight from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to reclaim its civilizational self-assurance." Even more ominously, the document states that Europe's "financial downturn is eclipsed by the real and more stark possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section on Europe is steeped in generations of European right-wing dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free expression and stifling of dissent, plummeting birthrates, and erosion of sovereign identity and self-belief." According to the document, if "present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to be reliable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, some NATO members will become majority non-European."

"American diplomacy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, free speech, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and history."

Core Ideas of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry powerful overtones of two theories seen as foundational for contemporary 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 attack the "perversion" and "enfeeblement" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "The Great Replacement," released in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who translated long-existing "indigenous" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "indigenous" populations and import a more docile and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fantasy contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "America urges its ideological partners in Europe to promote this resurgence of spirit, and the growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Objective: "Make Europe Great Again"

Put simply, the US believes 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 achieve this. Therefore, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "nations in agreement that want to restore their former greatness" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains unclear on implementation, it is obvious that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a sweeping policy on freedom of speech, closer to the US model – particularly 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 evidently does not regard Russia as an adversary either.

A Historical Blueprint: 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. Articulated by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to meddle in the "western hemisphere," which he proclaimed 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 safeguard US national interests.

None of this is entirely new – consider JD Vance’s speech 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 grave. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be condensed 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 respond appropriately.