The document dropped minutes before the World Cup draw—timed so no one would notice. But what Trump’s National Security Strategy contains is nothing less than a declaration of ideological war against European democracy and a formal announcement that the United States is now aligned with Russia.
Jacob Kaarsbo, former Danish intelligence officer and UN Security Council member, read the 33 pages and didn’t mince words: “It’s like the divorce papers between the United States and Europe after 80 years of being allies.”
The strategy declares Russia is no longer a threat. It praises “Russia’s desire for peace” more warmly than it mentions Canada, Germany, France, or any functioning democracy. It accuses European countries of being “undemocratic, unstable, and suppressing the opposition.” It names far-right parties—Germany’s AFD, Viktor Orbán’s Hungary—as the political movements America now supports. It condemns Romania for removing a Russian-funded president with multiple passports.
“I’m shaken, I’m stirred, but I’m not surprised,” Kaarsbo said. “When you see it in writing, it’s like, holy shit.”
This is projection on a geopolitical scale. And it arrived exactly two days after Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff spent five hours with Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Lev Parnas, who has sources inside the Kremlin orbit, provided the play-by-play. Kirill Dmitriev—Putin’s point man—met Kushner and Witkoff at the airport. He coached Kushner on how to speak to Putin during the drive. They stopped at a Michelin-star restaurant for caviar and champagne, then toured GUM and Red Square before the main event.
The meeting itself? Putin spent 90 minutes on a history lecture about why Ukraine belongs to Russia. About 20 minutes covered the so-called peace plan, where Putin flatly stated he’s taking Donbass one way or another. Marco Rubio, who actually negotiated with the Ukrainians, wasn’t even in Moscow—because everyone knew this wasn’t about peace.
The remaining three hours were business. Energy deals. Nord Stream 2 restoration. Critical minerals. Reconstruction contracts. How Russian oligarch money could “quietly flow” into U.S. real estate, energy projects, and strategic investments through shell companies and cutout partners. How to embed Moscow’s interests deep inside the American economy.
“They discussed how Trump supporters, Trump loyalists and billionaires and donors would participate, setting up shell companies, joint ventures,” Parnas reported. “In the meantime, Trump was basically going to sell it back here like this is a great deal, more money for the United States.”
The next day, Trump lifted sanctions on Lukoil. Two days later, this national security strategy appeared.
The document instructs Europe to “cultivate resistance to Europe’s current trajectory”—meaning elect far-right nationalists. It calls for “ending the perception and preventing the reality of NATO as a perpetually expanding alliance”—meaning shrink or kill NATO. It frames immigration as the reason NATO is threatened. It tells European nations they must “take primary responsibility for their own defense” while simultaneously announcing America will no longer defend democratic values.
The timing matters. Putin needed something to show domestically—proof that his investment in Trump has paid off. This document lets him claim America has capitulated. Whether American institutions actually follow it is another question. The military, by most accounts, despises Trump. Ken Harbaugh estimates 80% of service members hold their oath to the Constitution above any loyalty to the president. Republican senators aren’t buying his agenda. His polling is catastrophic.
But the document exists. It’s official. And it tells the world that the United States government—at least the executive branch—has formally switched teams.
The Epstein files deadline is December 19. If those files contain what investigators believe they contain, this entire house of cards collapses. The Epstein network wasn’t just about abuse—it was the influence operation that placed assets in positions of power, manipulated elections, and systematically captured American institutions.
Putin’s leverage over Trump lives in those files. So does the explanation for why an American president just declared war on democracy itself.
Read the national security strategy in full below the break.
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