The fate of a Europe allegedly in decline, beset by immigration and on the verge of losing its identity as a beacon of Western culture, has become one of the most persistent obsessions of the MAGA ideology during Donald Trump’s second presidency. This obsession crystallized on Thursday night with the release of a controversial document signed by Trump himself and titled “National Security Strategy of the United States of America.”
The 33 pages of this annual review of U.S. security strategy reviews the various fronts of Washington’s foreign policy. The section on Europe underscores the continent’s economic problems, although “this decline is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure. […] Should present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less.”
The text lists several culprits for that decline: “activities of the European Union and other transnational bodies that undermine political liberty and sovereignty, migration policies that are transforming the continent and creating strife, censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-confidence.”
The text, which has few precedents, adopts the positions of far-right political parties in Europe. The MAGA movement, and Trump himself, have championed the objectives of these political groups in elections in Germany and the United Kingdom. Washington’s European partners already heard some of these ideas in February, during the Munich Security Conference, where U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance delivered an incendiary speech and an apocalyptic vision of the Old Continent.
“This document is a roadmap to ensure that America remains the greatest and most successful nation in human history and the home of freedom on Earth,” reads the text signed by Trump in his preamble, which is a defense of the “America First” principles. “In the years ahead, we will continue to develop every dimension of our national strength – and we will make America safer, richer, freer, greater, and more powerful than ever before.”
European reaction
“I don’t believe that we need to get advice here from any country or party,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Friday. This new U.S. attack confirms the rift in transatlantic relations and the Trump administration’s shift towards Russia and the Kremlin’s rhetoric.
“The document treats Europe as a rival. It shows that the White House will do everything in its power to spread its ideology,” notes a senior EU source with concern, highlighting the influence of social media and techno-oligarchs aligned with Trump and his crusade against European regulations.
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