Trump admin says Europe faces ‘civilizational erasure’, pledges US support to ‘correct its trajectory’

The Trump administration shared a bleak view of Europe saying the continent is facing the “stark prospect of civilizational erasure” and pledged that the US will support like-minded “patriotic” parties to prevent a future in which “certain NATO members will become majority non-European.” The dark assessment of Europe’s future is part of an annual update to the United States’ national security strategy around the world. The document released overnight says the US should support political parties in Europe that fight against migration and promote nationalism. The strategy document does not mention any names, but far-right parties like Reform UK in Britain and the Alternative for Germany, known as the AFD, fit the bill for getting support. The National Security Strategy is typically released by presidents once each term and can form a framework for future policies and budgets.

“It is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to remain reliable allies,” the document states.

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“In everything we do, we are putting America First,” Trump wrote in a foreword to the document, which he called a “road map to ensure that America remains the greatest and most successful nation in human history.”

‘Europe is on path to becoming unrecognizable’

In the section called “Promoting European Greatness,” the document warns that Europe is on a path to becoming “unrecognizable” because of migration policies that are undermining the national identities of European countries and that helping Europe “correct its current trajectory” should be the policy of the US.

“We want Europe to remain European, to regain its civilizational self confidence, and to abandon its failed focus on regulatory suffocation,” the 33-page document says.

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Trump has repeatedly pressured the political leadership in Europe to bend to his will on funding for NATO, trade and tariffs, and other economic matters.

‘Growing influence of patriotic parties cause for great optimism’

The document specifies how the president wants his America First foreign policy to be a clarion call for other nationalist politicians to overhaul their political systems. It also echoes some of the language of the Great Replacement Theory, a nationalist conspiracy theory embraced by some of Trump’s top aides that warns of a deliberate effort to replace white people with non-white immigrants.

“The growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism. Our goal should be to help Europe correct its current trajectory,” the document said.

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The document has provoked sharp retorts from across Europe.

Germany’s foreign minister Johann Wadephul responded by saying that the countries of Europe “don’t believe that we need to get advice here from any country or party.”

The document also criticises European governments for holding unrealistic expectations for ending the war in Ukraine.