For the first time since returning to the White House, the administration has released President Donald Trump’s national security principles under the banner “America First”.

The document formally sets out a policy direction he frequently described in the past, centered on reducing American intervention overseas — including in the Middle East — and placing U.S. interests above all else.

According to reporting cited in the document, despite President Trump’s deep involvement in Israel’s war in Gaza and its confrontations with Iran, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, and despite his extended visits to Gulf states, the United States intends to shift its focus away from the region.

The stated reason is Washington’s diminishing dependence on Arab oil.

The strategy sharply criticizes previous U.S. administrations for investing heavily in attempts to shape the character of Middle Eastern states or publicly reprimand them.

It argues that the United States should abandon what it calls a “misguided experiment” of lecturing countries — particularly Gulf monarchies — about their traditions or systems of governance.

Instead, Trump views these states as fertile ground for economic opportunity.

“We should encourage and welcome reform wherever it grows organically, without trying to impose it,” the document states.

The publication of this strategy is legally required and represents the administration’s first such document since the Republican president returned to office in January.

Its content marks a sharp break from the strategy of President Joe Biden, who sought to reinforce alliances strained during Trump’s earlier term from twenty sixteen to twenty twenty, and to contain Russia under Vladimir Putin.

Democratic Congressman Jason Crow of Colorado, a member of congressional intelligence and armed services oversight committees, called the new strategy “catastrophic for America’s standing in the world”.

He argued that withdrawing from alliances and partnerships would make the world more dangerous, including for Americans.

The document portrays America’s European allies as socially and economically weakened — a result, it claims, of immigration policies, declining birth rates, “censorship of free expression,” “suppression of political opposition,” and the “erosion of national identities”.

These trends, it warns, could place parts of Europe “on the brink of civilizational erasure”.

As a consequence, the administration raises doubts about Europe’s long-term reliability as a partner.

At the same time, the document makes clear that Washington seeks to improve relations with Russia after years of hostility.

Ending the war in Ukraine, it says, is a core American interest and essential to rebuilding strategic stability with Moscow.

“If current trends continue in Europe, the continent will be unrecognizable in twenty years or less,” the text reads.

“It is far from certain that some European states will possess economies and militaries strong enough to remain credible allies”.

The strategy also notes the rise of right-wing parties in Europe that advocate restricting immigration and halting climate legislation.

“America encourages its political allies in Europe to advance this revival,” the document states, adding that the growing influence of “patriotic European parties” offers grounds for optimism.

The administration further outlines its intention to “rebalance” relations with China.

It seeks to prevent a war over Taiwan — the island claimed by Beijing and supported militarily by the United States under federal law.

The strategy emphasizes that regional partners should assume a greater share of responsibility in countering Chinese pressure.

“The United States military cannot, and should not, bear this burden alone,” it says.