Emma Ashford writes, “The Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy (NSS) dropped on Thursday night at 10:00 PM, a time more usually reserved for the kind of news dump that you want reporters to avoid.” (2)
It’s from the Trump 2.0 Administration. So it includes things like declaring that there is now a “’Trump Corollary’ to the Monroe Doctrine” that declares the US will “restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere.” It continues, “We will deny non-Hemispheric competitors the ability to position forces or other threatening capabilities, or to own or control strategically vital assets, in our Hemisphere.”
So, I guess that at least means Canada and Mexico still get to keep their own land and resources?
The entire concept of a Trump National Security Policy seems a bit bizarre, since his main concept of such a policy is, where can I get the next bribe? At the end she comments, “does any of this matter? It‘s hard to say.“
She notes:
[T]he document also goes further, blaming US elites for pursuing global ideals and, in doing so, undermining the US national interest in trade, migration, and security policy. To that end, the culture-war issues in here are not purely a domestic sop; they actually reflect how the administration thinks about US foreign policy since 1991.Her assessment here is really, uh, generous, even in pointing out some of the sillier things in it:
The emphasis on peacemaking in this strategy is and remains a new priority, largely distinct from the first Trump administration. Despite all the cynicism, however, this genuinely appears to be a priority for the president himself, who is portrayed as the key actor in peace and diplomacy — America’s diplomats at the state department are AWOL from these peace processes. The document goes as far as to describe Trump himself as the “President of Peace.” [p. 5 in the original] Perhaps, as it is nearly Christmas, we might adapt a Handel oratorio to the Prince of Peace to further make the point? [my emphasis]The language of the NSS echoes European far-right nationalism here:
The United States will put our own interests first and, in our relations with other nations, encourage them to prioritize their own interests as well. We stand for the sovereign rights of nations, against the sovereignty-sapping incursions of the most intrusive transnational organizations, and for reforming those institutions so that they assist rather than hinder individual sovereignty and further American interests. (p.9, my emphasis in bold)Those sovereignty-sappers presumably include favorite far-right bogeymen like the United Nations and the European Union. Ashford writes of the NSS’ references to European policy:
There’s more in here on European domestic politics than there is on American domestic politics at times, a choice the NSS justifies by noting correctly, that it’s in America’s interest to have a strong Europe. But in building upon the themes that caused such a furore in JD Vance’s Munich Security Conference speech — including the notion of a Europe that has culturally lost its way and explicitly suggesting that the US government might support certain political parties or movements within Europe — it’s fair to say this document is going to raise a lot of eyebrows in European capitals. [my emphasis]As a reminder, our Opus Dei Vice President in that Munich Security Conference speech expressed his and the Administration’s sympathy for the far-right German party, Alternative for Germany (AfD). He didn’t mention the AfD by name. But it was very clear to everyone that was what he was saying.
This report including an interview with Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook of the Bertelsmann Foundation: (3)
Ashbrook discusses more details about the Trump 2.0 regime’s active encouragement of the antidemocratic far-right parties.
Notes:
(1) National Security Strategy of the United States of America. November 2025 (issued 12/04/2025). <https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-National-Security-Strategy.pdf> (Accessed; 2025-05-12).
(2) Ashford, Emma (2025): Civilization, Nation, Strategy. What Is To Be Done? 12/05/2025. <https://emmamashford.substack.com/p/civilization-nation-strategy> (Accessed; 2025-05-12).
(3) Is Trump’s new National Security Strategy a ‘wholesale break' with US foreign policy’? DW News YouTube channel 12/05/2025. <https://youtu.be/d1z137gpqSo?si=pXAKxv0thksN9iJ6> (Accessed; 2025-05-12).
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