In a bold move on Wednesday, President Trump issued a new warning to Germany, a key NATO ally, suggesting a potential reduction in the US military footprint within the country. This development comes amid ongoing tensions with Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the US-Israel conflict with Iran.
The President’s remarks followed Merz’s critique earlier in the week, where he labeled the US as being “humiliated” by Iran’s leadership and questioned Washington’s strategic approach to the conflict. This criticism has added another layer to the already strained relations between the two leaders.
Trump has consistently expressed frustration with NATO, particularly regarding the alliance’s reluctance to join the US in its two-month-long military campaign. His latest statement indicated that the US is actively evaluating its troop deployment in Germany, with a decision expected soon. “The United States is studying and reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time,” Trump announced via social media.
Despite the diplomatic spat, Merz maintained on Wednesday that his personal rapport with Trump remains “as good as ever.” However, he admitted to having reservations about the initiation of the war with Iran from the onset.
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Merz had said earlier Wednesday that his personal relationship with Trump remained “as good as ever,” but he had “had doubts from the very beginning about what was started there with the war in Iran.”
During his first term in the White House, Trump also moved to cut US troops in Germany because he said the country spent too little on defense.
In June 2020, Trump announced he was going to pull out about 9,500 of the roughly 34,500 US troops who were then stationed in Germany, but the process never actually started.
Democratic President Joe Biden formally stopped the planned withdrawal soon after taking office in 2021.
The US has several major military facilities in the country, including the headquarters for US European Command and US Africa Command, Ramstein Air Base and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the largest American hospital outside the United States.
Merz met with Trump at the White House in March, just days after the US and Israel began their bombardment of Iran.
At the time, Merz told Trump that Germany was eager to work with the US on a strategy for when the current Iranian government no longer exists. Merz also expressed concern that an extended conflict could do great damage to the global economy.
His concern, like many other European leaders, has only grown as the US and Iran have yet to come to a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway through which about 20% of the world global oil supply had flowed prior to the start of the war. It has been effectively closed since the conflict began on Feb. 28.
“We are suffering considerably in Germany and in Europe from the consequences of, for example, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” Merz said Wednesday, hours before Trump posted his threat on social media. “And in that regard, I urge that this conflict be resolved.”
Merz added that his government was “on good speaking terms” with the Trump administration.
Trump, for his part, has hardly been containing his frustration with Merz.
On Tuesday, he wrote: “The Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about!”
Trump added that it was no surprise “that Germany is doing so poorly, both economically and in other respects!”
