The first National Security Strategy of the second Trump administration, dated November 2025, was issued last week. It pivots towards a doctrine of “America First”, which prioritises the nation’s sovereignty, prosperity, and military pre-eminence over others. The strategy is built around four central pillars: protecting the homeland, promoting American prosperity, preserving “peace through strength,” and advancing American influence abroad.
A key focus of the strategy is on countering the growing power of major competitors—primarily China and Russia—who are seen as seeking to reshape the international order in ways that conflict with US interests and values. Unlike prior strategies, it places a stronger emphasis on economic competitiveness and the protection of American workers and industries. While the strategy was rolled out, India’s PM Modi signed a series of deals with Russia’s Putin, in a move that cannot please America.
The approach to America’s alliances is more transactional than has been the case previously, calling for burden-sharing among partners and expecting NATO allies and others to contribute more to shared security goals. But it caused a widespread outcry, especially in Europe, for its “frank” assessments about America’s supposed allies.
In fact, regarding Europe, the strategy says that Europe’s “economic decline is eclipsed by the real and more stark [sic] prospect of civilizational erasure. The larger issues facing Europe include 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. Should present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less.”
On the one hand, the Europeans are right in considering this kind of tone and assessment unacceptable, coming as it does from what should be its major ally. In particular, being accused of repressing political liberty suppressing freedom of speech from the country that has sent the Marines to sedate the political revolts against an increasingly authoritarian regime is completely unacceptable and even paradoxical.
On the other hand, the US does not seem ready to completely abandon its historical allies to a destiny of irrelevance. The strategy says that “America is, understandably, sentimentally attached to the European continent— and, of course, to Britain and Ireland” and that “Europe remains strategically and culturally vital to the United States. […] Our goal should be to help Europe correct its current trajectory.” So, the US does not see Europe as a lost cause yet, it only believes that Europe needs reforming. At the same time, after the fine given by the EU to X, Musk called for the abolishment of the EU. And the aftertaste of this strategy is even bitterer than its initial impression. It seems that the strategic rival of the US is not China or Russia, but rather the European liberal democracy.
What the strategy says regarding the war in Ukraine is explicit: “It is a core interest of the United States to negotiate an expeditious cessation of hostilities in Ukraine, in order to stabilize European economies, prevent unintended escalation or expansion of the war, and reestablish strategic stability with Russia.” This is a path for the Ukrainian surrender to Russia’s aggression. That is the reason why today the Coalition of the Willing will meet again in London, with Merz, Macron, Starmer and Zelensky, who will try to resist America’s attempt to settle the peace with Moscow alone, at the expense of Ukraine and its European allies.
