America: More Than Just Europe's Unwilling Ally, But Rather a Adversary Steeped in Right-Wing Ideology

On the very day Donald Trump received a tailor-made "award for peace" from his newest friend, FIFA president "Johnny" Infantino, his government released an similarly ostentatious security policy document. This relatively brief report is saturated with pure Trump and Trumpism. It begins with the characteristically modest claim that the president has rescued "our nation – and the world – back from the brink of disaster and disaster."

Even though the strategy largely codifies the ongoing policies and rhetoric of Trump and his cabinet, it must be heeded as a grave caution for the international community, and for the European continent in particular.

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Fear

The document advocates for an aggressive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "fostering European strength." Its language could have been lifted straight from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called migration emergency of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to stay European, to reclaim its civilizational self-confidence." Even more ominously, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the real and more stark possibility of civilizational erasure."

The entire section on Europe is steeped in generations of European right-wing ideology and rhetoric. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "transforming the continent and creating conflict, suppression of free speech and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-belief." Per 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 some European countries will have economic power and armed forces strong enough to remain dependable allies." In fact, the Trump administration asserts that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to champion genuine democracy, free speech, and proud celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and past."

Core Ideas of the Right-Wing

These points carry strong overtones of two concepts regarded as core for modern right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose thesis on the inevitable fall of civilizations was used by the German far right to criticise 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 overt conspiracy theory, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute restive "indigenous" populations and bring in a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fantasy contained in both ideas that grants the Trump administration the authority, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document implies. And it is evident where it sees its allies: "The United States urges its ideological partners in Europe to advance this resurgence of spirit, and the growing clout of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism."

The Objective: "Restore European Greatness"

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 sole movement that can achieve this. Therefore, its "overarching strategy for Europe" prioritises "fostering opposition to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – meaning the far right – and "strengthening the healthy nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – in particular "nations in agreement that want to reclaim their former greatness" – a clear reference to Hungary and Italy.

While the document stays vague on implementation, it is obvious that a priority is to push Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, closer to 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 phrases it, to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not explicitly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not treat Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological Blueprint: The Monroe Doctrine

In a wider context, 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 warned 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 entails the US "recruiting" 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 maybe now that it is published in an official document, European leaders will at last understand that the situation is grave. And if the document is too long or vague for them, it can be condensed in clear and succinct terms: the current US government believes that its national security is best served by the demise of liberal democracy in Europe. In other words, the US is not only an unwilling ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to respond accordingly.