Trump vs Europe: Why The White House now sounds like Tommy Robinson
The White House’s “gobsmacking” National Security Strategy document alludes to racist conspiracy theories and gives Europeans subtle nudges to vote for far-right parties. Should this be getting more media attention?
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In brief…
- The White House’s National Security Strategy, approved by Donald Trump, suggests migrants are intentionally destroying culture across Europe, and hints at voting for far-right political parties to prevent this fictional threat.
- The News Agents says the Trump administration is now using the rhetoric of far-right figures such as Tommy Robinson, and that the MAGA movement is no longer “America first”, as it pushes its thinking outside US borders.
- British media and politicians are underestimating how serious this document – and MAGA intentions – really are right now.
What’s the story?
The White House is now echoing Tommy Robinson in how it deals with Europe, alluding to conspiracy theories in official documents to stir up overseas support for the MAGA movement, The News Agents say.
Once a hard-right mindset that supposedly focused on “America first”, the recently revealed US National Security Strategy document leans into ‘the great replacement theory’ erasing culture in Europe, and urges MAGA supporters in the EU to vote for far-right political parties to advance the movement.
Jon Sopel says the document, usually drawn up once per administration, “is the most significant reverse in American foreign policy that we have seen” – in his generation, and previous generations as well.
“Donald Trump is ripping up the rules of the road by saying there's a western hemisphere, which – broadly speaking – America will have dominance over, and it doesn't really care what happens in the rest of the world.
“It's not there to promote democracy. It's not there to promote freedom of speech. If people want to run dictatorships, or be brutal oligarchs, that's up to them – but it's no concern of the United States of America.”
The document claims Europe will be "unrecognisable" within the next 20 years – blaming migration, alleged censorship of free-speech, declining birthrates and a loss of national identities for what Trump sees as "civilisational erasure".
Despite a rise of the far right across Europe, the document also refers to a suppression of political opposition, and encourages supporters in Europe to vote for "patriotic European parties" in future elections.
In a veiled threat, he adds that America is uncertain whether EU countries will have the economy or military strength to remain "reliable allies" of the US.
The document, Lewis Goodall says, has “barely caused a ripple” in the UK press, or from our politicians, who frequently describe America as this country’s ‘closest ally’.
"It's almost too horrible to contemplate," Lewis says.
Is The White House spreading conspiracy theories?
The Great Replacement Theory is a conspiracy theory which has "frequently and regularly been disproven," says Lewis.
"The White House is saying something Tommy Robinson and others have long been arguing about."
"It's saying that immigrants, specifically Muslims, are coming to Europe to erase the native population, to convert these societies to Islam.
"This document doesn't explicitly say this, but this is the theory that it's clearly echoing."
He adds that the calls on how Europeans should vote are "gobsmacking".
"It's basically saying that in order to guarantee long-term American security interests, American policy should be to help the forces internally within these countries who are opposing this replacement, opposing this erasure, and assist them as part of America's foreign foreign policy," he adds.
How the document brought Trump and Musk back to the same side
The White House document has found some approval from some, including Elon Musk, who spent the weekend sharing and praising some of its more extreme parts.
It’s a curious coincidence of timing for Musk to join criticism of Europe, with X/Twitter having recently been fined €120 million by the European Union for breaching its Digital Services Act.
"Once again, Trump and Musk find themselves at one on this," Lewis says.
"They see the EU as an enemy – not just against their virtual vision of Western civilisation, but against American technological prowess, because the EU is pretty much the only regulatory block in the world which is acting in a serious regulatory way against American AI and American tech."
Is this the moment MAGA goes global?
The heart of this story, Jon and Lewis say, is the "imperialism of MAGA", and how little response it has had across British media.
"MAGA started as quite extreme-nationalist, and it had relatively narrow aims," Lewis says.
"It was about America First, it was about restoring a sense of older American political order internally within the US.
"Now, MAGA, Trump and those around Trump see themselves as the directors and benefactors of similarly-minded movements around the world, just as Moscow used to see itself with communist parties in the Cold War."
He says this new evolution, turns MAGA into a movement which needs to ensure other parts of the West "survive civilisationally", in order to continue itself.
"MAGA is looking for imperial expansion into Europe, and that is why it is promoting these 'patriotic parties' that are on the far-right of our politics," Jon adds.
"That is imperialism, that is spreading the word of MAGA to the continent of Europe and making sure that Europe bends the knee.
"This document needs serious, serious attention. I just don't feel it's getting that right now."