According to President Donald Trump, the United States is considering the possible withdrawal of some of its troops from Germany. The US will soon come to a decision on this matter, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Thursday. TASR informs about it according to the report of the DPA agency.
“The United States is studying and evaluating a possible reduction in the number of troops in Germany and will make a decision on this in the next short time. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” wrote Trump on his social network.
Trump criticized Merz
Only on Tuesday, the US president criticized German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for his statements about US attacks on Iran. According to Trump, Merz “doesn’t know what he’s talking about” and it’s no wonder that “Germany is doing so badly in terms of the economy and other areas,” he wrote on the Truth Social network.
Merz himself said in Berlin on Wednesday that his relationship with Trump “remains – at least from my point of view – as good as ever”.
“We are still having constructive discussions together,” the German chancellor pointed out in this regard.
American bases in Europe
During several decades, dozens of large American military bases existed in Europe, DPA reminds. In Germany, these include US European Command (EUCOM) in Stuttgart and Ramstein Air Base in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, which serves as a hub for the US Air Force.
Last year, approximately 80,000 American soldiers were stationed in Europe. According to Congressional data, the United States had over 35,000 troops in Germany alone in 2024, although this figure is now believed to be higher; German media reports that it is close to 50,000.
Reaction to allies
During both of his terms of office, Trump, within the framework of criticism of NATO, has several times gone out of his way by reducing the number of American soldiers in Germany and other European allies, according to the AFP agency, according to which Washington is now apparently determined to punish allies who did not support the American-Israeli war in Iran or contribute to peacekeeping forces in the key Strait of Hormuz.
Just a few hours before Trump’s statement about the number of soldiers in Germany, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a telephone conversation with the head of German diplomacy, Johann Wadephul, about the situation in Iran.
