America: More Than Just the Continent's Reluctant Ally, But a Adversary Steeped in Right-Wing Ideology

On the exact date Donald Trump was presented with a custom-made "peace prize" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his administration released an equally flamboyant national security strategy. This fairly brief paper drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the typically humble assertion that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of disaster and ruin."

Even though the strategy mostly formalizes the ongoing actions and rhetoric of Trump and his team, it must be heeded as a grave warning for the world, and for Europe specifically.

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Fear

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy meddling where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its language could have been lifted directly from addresses by Viktor Orbán during the much-discussed refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to regain its cultural self-assurance." Even more ominously, the document claims that Europe's "economic decline is eclipsed by the real and starker possibility of cultural extinction."

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 "transforming the continent and creating conflict, censorship of free expression and suppression 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 some European countries will have economic power and militaries powerful enough to remain dependable allies." Indeed, 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 Far Right

These points carry strong overtones of two theories seen as foundational for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," whose argument on the inevitable fall of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise the "decadence" 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 "native" fears into a more explicit conspiratorial narrative, accusing European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "indigenous" populations and bring in a more submissive and dependent electorate.

It is the nativist fever dream encapsulated in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the authority, if not the obligation, to intervene in European affairs, the document implies. And it is clear where it sees its allies: "America encourages its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of national spirit, and the growing clout of nationalist European parties indeed gives cause for significant hope."

The Goal: "Make Europe Great Again"

In other words, the US contends that it is key 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 "broad policy for Europe" prioritises "cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "building up the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "aligned countries 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 radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – particularly regarding right-wing speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalize 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 evidently does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, the national security strategy takes its inspiration 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 interfere in the "western hemisphere," which he declared 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 protect US national interests.

This is entirely new – consider JD Vance’s speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president launched an assault on Europe’s democratic model. But maybe now that it is laid out in an official document, European leaders will at last understand that the stance is serious. 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 just an unwilling ally; it is a deliberate adversary. It is time to respond accordingly.