Trump’s National Security Strategy Is a Blueprint for White Nationalism
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March 19, 2026
Trump’s National Security Strategy Is a Blueprint for White Nationalism
Trump’s foreign policy reasoning mirrors the crackpot logic of a runaway authoritarian.
Juan Cole
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sits down for an interview with Bloomberg Television during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on February 14, 2026.
(Alex Kraus / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
This article originally appeared at . To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from .
Under President Donald J. Trump, the United States has now become an engine for the promulgation of white nationalism. Not since the 1930s has such an ideology, which exalts those ethnic groups it codes as “white” while denigrating all others, underpinned the domestic and foreign policies of a major world power. Typically (for our moment), Trump’s recent National Security Strategy (NSS) depicted Europe as in distinct “civilizational decline” because of the European Union’s commitment to multiracial democracy and international humanitarian law. These days, thanks to its racial policies, the Trump team even finds a way to inject racial hatred into dry economic statistics, complaining that “Continental Europe has been losing share of global GDP [gross domestic product]—down from 25 percent in 1990 to 14 percent today.”
A Mayor Named Khan
As it happens, though, on a per-person basis, Europeans are more than twice as wealthy today in real terms as they were 36 years ago. The dictum once cited by Mark Twain that there are “lies, damned lies, and statistics” is exemplified in Trump’s National Security Strategy. In 1991, just two years before the European Union (EU) was first formed, the per-capita GDP there was $15,470 (in today’s dollars). In 2024, that figure was $43,305. What changed since then wasn’t that Europe began decaying but that the well-being of the people in the Global South, in what Trump dismisses as “shithole countries,” has actually also improved significantly, whether he likes it or not, changing Europe’s share of global GDP.
In his National Security Strategy, Trump admits, however, that Europe’s supposed economic degradation doesn’t bother him nearly as much as another issue: “This economic decline is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure,” thanks to Europe’s migration policies. In short, Trump’s government has now adopted a modernized version of the Nazi Great Replacement ideology, slamming “migration policies that are transforming the [European] continent and creating strife,” …
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Trump’s National Security Strategy Is a Blueprint for White Nationalism
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Current Issue
March 19, 2026
Trump’s National Security Strategy Is a Blueprint for White Nationalism
Trump’s foreign policy reasoning mirrors the crackpot logic of a runaway authoritarian.
Juan Cole
Share
Copy Link
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Ad Policy
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sits down for an interview with Bloomberg Television during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on February 14, 2026.
(Alex Kraus / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
This article originally appeared at . To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from .
Under President Donald J. Trump, the United States has now become an engine for the promulgation of white nationalism. Not since the 1930s has such an ideology, which exalts those ethnic groups it codes as “white” while denigrating all others, underpinned the domestic and foreign policies of a major world power. Typically (for our moment), Trump’s recent National Security Strategy (NSS) depicted Europe as in distinct “civilizational decline” because of the European Union’s commitment to multiracial democracy and international humanitarian law. These days, thanks to its racial policies, the Trump team even finds a way to inject racial hatred into dry economic statistics, complaining that “Continental Europe has been losing share of global GDP [gross domestic product]—down from 25 percent in 1990 to 14 percent today.”
A Mayor Named Khan
As it happens, though, on a per-person basis, Europeans are more than twice as wealthy today in real terms as they were 36 years ago. The dictum once cited by Mark Twain that there are “lies, damned lies, and statistics” is exemplified in Trump’s National Security Strategy. In 1991, just two years before the European Union (EU) was first formed, the per-capita GDP there was $15,470 (in today’s dollars). In 2024, that figure was $43,305. What changed since then wasn’t that Europe began decaying but that the well-being of the people in the Global South, in what Trump dismisses as “shithole countries,” has actually also improved significantly, whether he likes it or not, changing Europe’s share of global GDP.
In his National Security Strategy, Trump admits, however, that Europe’s supposed economic degradation doesn’t bother him nearly as much as another issue: “This economic decline is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure,” thanks to Europe’s migration policies. In short, Trump’s government has now adopted a modernized version of the Nazi Great Replacement ideology, slamming “migration policies that are transforming the [European] continent and creating strife,” …
Trump’s National Security Strategy Is a Blueprint for White Nationalism
What's the administration thinking here?
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Trump’s National Security Strategy Is a Blueprint for White Nationalism
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Current Issue
March 19, 2026
Trump’s National Security Strategy Is a Blueprint for White Nationalism
Trump’s foreign policy reasoning mirrors the crackpot logic of a runaway authoritarian.
Juan Cole
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Ad Policy
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sits down for an interview with Bloomberg Television during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on February 14, 2026.
(Alex Kraus / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
This article originally appeared at . To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from .
Under President Donald J. Trump, the United States has now become an engine for the promulgation of white nationalism. Not since the 1930s has such an ideology, which exalts those ethnic groups it codes as “white” while denigrating all others, underpinned the domestic and foreign policies of a major world power. Typically (for our moment), Trump’s recent National Security Strategy (NSS) depicted Europe as in distinct “civilizational decline” because of the European Union’s commitment to multiracial democracy and international humanitarian law. These days, thanks to its racial policies, the Trump team even finds a way to inject racial hatred into dry economic statistics, complaining that “Continental Europe has been losing share of global GDP [gross domestic product]—down from 25 percent in 1990 to 14 percent today.”
A Mayor Named Khan
As it happens, though, on a per-person basis, Europeans are more than twice as wealthy today in real terms as they were 36 years ago. The dictum once cited by Mark Twain that there are “lies, damned lies, and statistics” is exemplified in Trump’s National Security Strategy. In 1991, just two years before the European Union (EU) was first formed, the per-capita GDP there was $15,470 (in today’s dollars). In 2024, that figure was $43,305. What changed since then wasn’t that Europe began decaying but that the well-being of the people in the Global South, in what Trump dismisses as “shithole countries,” has actually also improved significantly, whether he likes it or not, changing Europe’s share of global GDP.
In his National Security Strategy, Trump admits, however, that Europe’s supposed economic degradation doesn’t bother him nearly as much as another issue: “This economic decline is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure,” thanks to Europe’s migration policies. In short, Trump’s government has now adopted a modernized version of the Nazi Great Replacement ideology, slamming “migration policies that are transforming the [European] continent and creating strife,” …
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