U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the Pentagon’s withdrawal of American troops from Germany would be much larger than indicated just two days ago.
“We’re going to cut way down. And we’re cutting a lot further than 5,000,” Trump told reporters in Florida. The Pentagon announced on Friday that it would withdraw 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany over the next year.
Trump’s latest comments escalate a dispute with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said last week that Washington was being “humiliated” by Iran.
Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius earlier Saturday sought to downplay the impact of Washington’s decision to scale back its troop presence in the country, casting the move as anticipated and using it to underline Europe’s need to take greater responsibility for its own security.
NATO said it was “working with the U.S. to understand the details” of the Pentagon’s decision to pull the troops. The move “underscores the need for Europe to invest more in defense,” NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said in a statement.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the withdrawal in response to “conditions on the ground” after reviewing U.S. troop buildup in Europe, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement on Friday. The cuts would still leave around 33,000 American troops in Germany.
In the U.S. Congress, the Republican heads of the House and Senate Armed Service committees on Saturday said they are “very concerned” about the U.S. troop drawdown in Germany. They also insisted that “significant” changes to the American posture in Europe demands “a deliberate review process,” according to a joint statement.
“Germany has stepped up in response to President Trump’s call for greater burden sharing, significantly increasing defense spending and providing seamless access, basing and overflight for U.S. forces in support of Operation Epic Fury,” the committee chairmen, Senator Roger Wicker and Representative Mike Rogers, said in their statement.
“Prematurely reducing” the U.S. military presence in Europe “sends the wrong signal” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Wicker and Rogers said in the statement.
Trump, who has repeatedly complained that NATO countries failed to help in the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, has warned for months that the U.S. would pull forces from Europe.
Last week, Trump threatened to remove U.S. troops from Spain and Italy. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Italian leader Giorgia Meloni, like Germany’s Merz, have been particularly critical of the war on Iran.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said he would “probably” remove troops from Italy and Spain. He said Italy had “not been of any help to us,” and he accused Spain of being “absolutely horrible.”
The Pentagon concluded a review of U.S. military posture around the globe earlier this year. That report did not call for a major withdrawal of troops from Europe, but it did pledge to commit more military assets to other regions and leave European security to European governments.
Victor Jack, Chris Lunday and Rory O’Neill contributed reporting.
US to cut troop presence in Germany ‘a lot further than 5,000,’ Trump says
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