US President Donald Trump has signaled that Washington will reduce its military footprint in Germany far more than the 5,000 troops the Pentagon announced on Friday, escalating a dispute with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over European security and the war in Iran.
Speaking to reporters in Florida on Saturday, Trump said: “We’re going to cut way down. And we’re cutting a lot further than 5,000.” He offered no further details on the scale or timeline of the reduction, which would affect the roughly 36,000 US service members currently stationed in Germany.
Background to the Tensions
The Pentagon’s initial plan to withdraw 5,000 troops over the next six to twelve months came after Merz publicly criticized the US-Israeli military campaign in Iran, arguing that Washington lacked a coherent strategy. Trump has long chafed at what he sees as insufficient European burden-sharing within NATO, and the latest announcement is the most concrete step yet in his push to scale back US commitments on the continent.
Germany’s Defence Minister Boris Pistorius appeared to take the news in stride. “The presence of American soldiers in Europe, and especially in Germany, is in our interest and in the interest of the US,” he told German media, while acknowledging that European nations must assume greater responsibility for their own defense. He described the drawdown as expected, given Trump’s repeated threats over the years.
The planned withdrawal has drawn bipartisan criticism in Washington. Democrats have condemned the move, and some Republicans have voiced concern that it sends the “wrong signal” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose full-scale invasion of Ukraine recently entered its fifth year. The US had increased its European deployment to around 80,000–100,000 active-duty troops after Russia’s 2022 invasion, and Berlin has long anticipated that those reinforcements would be the first to leave.
Broader Fallout with European Allies
Trump’s decision is part of a wider pattern of friction with European leaders. Earlier in the week, he hinted at reducing US troop presence in Italy and Spain, following clashes with Prime Ministers Giorgia Meloni and Pedro Sánchez over the Iran conflict. The US maintains over 12,500 troops in Italy and close to 4,000 in Spain.
In another sign of strain, Trump accused the European Union of failing to comply with its trade agreement with Washington and announced plans to raise tariffs on cars and trucks produced in the bloc to 25% next week. The move would hit Germany’s powerful automobile industry particularly hard. Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee, called the tariff threat “unacceptable” and labeled the US an “unreliable” trading partner. For more on the trade dimension, see our analysis: EU Prepares for Trade Showdown as Trump Threatens 25% Tariffs on European Cars.
The Pentagon has offered few specifics about which units or operations would be affected by the German drawdown. A reduction of 5,000 troops represents roughly one-seventh of the US contingent in Germany, but Trump’s latest remarks suggest the final number could be substantially higher. The broader implications for NATO’s eastern flank and the alliance’s deterrence posture remain unclear.
For context on how these troop withdrawal threats are testing other key alliances, read our report: US Troop Withdrawal Threats Test Italy's Strategic Alliance with Washington.
As the transatlantic relationship enters a new period of strain, European capitals are grappling with the reality of a US administration that views security commitments as transactional. The coming months will test whether the EU can forge a more autonomous defense posture — or whether the rift with Washington will deepen further.
