The global war on globalism

Trump exports the war for national sovereignty, whether sovereign countries like it or not

Turns out JD Vance’s Munich speech was just a warmup. The Trump administration released its 2025 national security strategy on Thursday night, and it’s caused an uproar.

Download the document here. A range of reactions, most worried, from the Council on Foreign Relations. Greater concern from Terry Glavin. Rudyard Griffiths on implications for Canada (“another step toward formalizing Canada’s satrap status”) here.

A low-key but influential state department official named Michael Anton is said to have held the pen on the new document, but I keep hearing vice-president JD Vance when I read it. Especially in paragraphs like this one, where Vance the report’s author seems intent on winning point-scoring battles that must be super-interesting on the Yale Law alumni Slack:

President Trump’s foreign policy is pragmatic without being “pragmatist,” realistic without being “realist,” principled without being “idealistic,” muscular without being “hawkish,” and restrained without being “dovish.” It is not grounded in traditional, political ideology. It is motivated above all by what works for America—or, in two words, “America First.”

Ho-kay, Sparky. Much of the uproar is over what the document says about Europe. This report in the Daily Mail is a good survey of the spicy bits — and why they might have some traction on public opinion in parts of the US and even Europe.

Basically the national-security strategy is a replacement-theory manifesto.

“But this economic decline is eclipsed by the real and more stark 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.”

These two paragraphs follow soon after:

American diplomacy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ individual character and history. America encourages its political allies in Europe to promote this revival of spirit, and the growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism.

Our goal should be to help Europe correct its current trajectory. We will need a strong Europe to help us successfully compete, and to work in concert with us to prevent any adversary from dominating Europe.

Geert Wilders feels seen. “President [Trump] speaks the truth. Europe is changing rapidly into a medieval continent thanks to open borders and mass immigration. Indeed, an erasure of our culture if we don’t act soon and close our borders for illegal aliens!” Vlad Putin’s spokesman found the thing “largely consistent with our vision.”

There’s a lot to unpack here.