The headline, the main takeaway from a European viewpoint is this: The transatlantic relationship as we know it is over. Yes, we kinda knew this. But this is now official US White House policy. Not a sppech, not a statement. The West as it used to be no longer exists.

I’ll go through it in order, but what all Europeans need to read are pages 25-27 on “Promoting European Greatness”.

But first: This is really a strategy which prioritises. They also say so openly, and definitely have a point on this 👇

I’m also gonna say something that will be controversial here: This is actually a very accessible and easy to read document. Is it good prose? No, but it also doesn’t do jargon. It might be written by AI, as some have suggested, but for a normal person, this is much clearer than past strategies.

Just compare the table of content from the 2025 to the 2022 NSS. Prioritisation and easy language. Honestly, our strategies could use more of that. (This is a point about form, not content.)

Let’s look at those priorities: . “the affairs of other countries are our concern only if their activities directly threaten our interests” . Focus on Western Hemisphere . nations should prioritize their interests . “days of the United States propping up the entire world order like Atlas are over”

And domestically

What about Europe? It is mentioned quite a bit, with one primary focus: European identity and the alleged elites and minority governments that restrict core liberties and democratic processes. This is extremely close to JD Vance’s Munich speech.

Pages 25 to 27 are most relevant here and should be read in their entirety

What struck me most on Europe wasn’t the focus on value, freedom of speech etc - again, very similar to Vance’s Munich speech - but how activist it is. This is about directly trying to influence what is going on in Europe: