type: timeline_event
On December 4, 2025, the Trump administration released its 33-page National Security Strategy, marking a fundamental departure from decades of U.S. foreign policy grounded in democratic alliances. The document contained harsh criticism of traditional European partners, warning that certain NATO members may become "majority non-European" within decades and questioning whether European nations could maintain "economies and militaries strong enough to remain reliable allies." The strategy attributed Europe's perceived weakness to immigration policies, declining birthrates, "censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition," and a "loss of national identities and self-confidence." In an unprecedented endorsement of far-right political movements, the document declared that "the growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism" and called for "cultivating resistance within European nations" — language widely understood as direct support for parties such as France's National Rally and Germany's Alternative für Deutschland. The strategy also identified Austria, Hungary, Italy, and Poland as countries the U.S. should work with to pull away from the European Union.
The strategy simultaneously adopted conciliatory language toward authoritarian powers. Russia was spared any criticism and was not classified as an adversary; instead, the document expressed a desire to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia" and framed ending the war in Ukraine as a core U.S. interest without identifying Moscow as the aggressor. Middle Eastern authoritarian regimes were characterized as places of "partnership, friendship, and investment" with no mention of democratic accountability. This represented a sharp break from the 2017 National Security Strategy produced during Trump's first term, which had emphasized great power competition with Russia and China and included explicit references to democratic values.
European leaders responded with alarm. European Council President Antonio Costa stated, "What we cannot accept is this threat of interference in the political life of Europe." Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt observed the document placed the U.S. "to the right of the extreme right in Europe," while former French Ambassador Gérard Araud said it "largely confirms" perceptions that Trump was an "enemy of Europe." U.S. foreign policy analysts were equally critical: Representative Jason Crow called it "catastrophic to America's standing in the world," Brookings Institution scholar Constanze Stelzenmüller described the Europe section as using "the language of tyranny," and Council on Foreign Relations expert Liana Fix characterized the document as marking a transition from "an alliance based on liberal values" toward alignment with illiberal nationalist movements — a dynamic she noted paralleled Vladimir Putin's long-standing strategy of fragmenting European cohesion.