MUNSTER, Germany (AP) 鈥� U.S. President Donald Trump has again out of Germany, a key NATO ally and the European Union鈥檚 largest economy. Europeans have heard this before.
Trump’s threats came after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the U.S. was being 鈥渉umiliated鈥� by Tehran in negotiations to end the Iran war.
The mercurial U.S. leader has about reducing the American military presence in Germany, and has for its refusal to assist Washington in the war, which began on Feb. 28 with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Trump wrote Wednesday on social media that the U.S. was reviewing possible troop reductions in Germany, with a 鈥渄etermination鈥� to be made soon. On Thursday, he was still thinking about Merz, posting that the German leader should 鈥渟pend more time on ending the war with Russia/Ukraine鈥� and 鈥渇ixing his broken Country鈥� than concerning himself with Iran.
US military presence in Europe
American allies in NATO have braced for a U.S. troop withdrawal since just after the Trump administration took office, with Washington warning Europe would have to security, and that of Ukraine, in the future.
Depending on operations, exercises and troop rotations, around 80,000-100,000 U.S. personnel are . NATO allies have expected for more than a year that U.S. troops deployed after Russia launched its all-out war on Ukraine in February 2022 would be first to leave.
Germany hosts several U.S. military facilities, including the headquarters of its European and Africa commands, Ramstein Air Base and a medical center in Landstuhl, where casualties from wars in places like Afghanistan and Iraq were treated. U.S. nuclear missiles are also stationed in the country.
Ed Arnold, an expert in European security at the Royal United Services Institute, or RUSI, in London, said that the U.S. gets a lot out of its presence in Germany 鈥� like logistics and support for Middle East combat operations 鈥� and was unlikely to withdraw.
Nico Lange from the Center of European Policy Analysis agreed, and said that there are approximately 36,000 U.S. soldiers in Germany who primarily serve U.S. interests, including 鈥渢he projection of American power globally,鈥� rather than helping with the defense of Germany.
The U.S. has invested 鈥渟ubstantial funds鈥� in high-quality infrastructure in Germany that can’t be moved overnight, and a different deployment would cost Washington a huge amount of money, which would require Trump to get approval from U.S. Congress, Lange said.
As early as 2020, to withdraw 11,900 U.S. troops from Germany, but that didn’t happen partly because U.S. Congress didn’t provide the necessary funds and a withdrawal would have required enormous investments elsewhere.
That’s why Trump鈥檚 post is most likely 鈥渂luster,鈥� Arnold said.
鈥淭here is a difference between the military view and the political view,鈥� Arnold said. 鈥淭he issue with some of these threats is that they are not quite as galling as they were a couple of years ago.鈥�
Merz, visiting troops Thursday at a military training area in Munster, in northern Germany, didn’t directly address Trump鈥檚 comments, but alluded to working 鈥渟houlder to shoulder for mutual benefit and in deep trans-Atlantic solidarity,鈥� and said that his government has 鈥渕ade great efforts to strengthen Germany鈥檚 security.鈥�
Arnold, the expert at RUSI, said that Europe is more concerned about issues like a U.S. and ammunition from Germany to the Middle East, and notifications to NATO countries such as Estonia and Belgium that orders for American weapons will be delayed as the U.S. government is prioritized.
A senior Western official told The Associated Press that they weren’t aware of any discussions between the U.S. and Germany or other allies regarding the possibility of troop reductions in Germany.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said that Europe and Germany, which recently announced its new military strategy, is taking more responsibility for security on the continent.
, the U.S. confirmed that it would reduce its on NATO鈥檚 borders with Ukraine. The move to cut 1,500-3,000 troops came on short notice and unsettled NATO ally Romania, where the military organization runs an air base.
As Russia looks on, Iran war has had an impact
The U.S. administration informed the allies early last year that it has been reviewing its military 鈥減osture鈥� in Europe and elsewhere. The findings of that review had been due to be made public in late 2025, but still haven’t surfaced.
However, the U.S. did commit to inform its allies in advance about any changes to ensure that no security gap is created at a time when Russia is increasingly confrontational.
The Iran war only made the prospect of a withdrawal more likely, and a flurry of meetings has been held between administration officials, NATO Secretary-General and European leaders since the conflict started more than two months ago.
Over the last year, European allies and Canada have understood that they will have to provide Europe鈥檚 conventional defenses. The main U.S. contribution to NATO deterrence going forward will be the presence of American nuclear weapons and some troops.
Trump’s Greenland fixation
Beyond the uncertainty over U.S. personnel, the allies have become accustomed to , having weathered insults as 鈥渃owards鈥� or hearing NATO branded as a 鈥減aper tiger鈥� by their most powerful ally in recent weeks.
Repeated threats to , or over things like defense spending, have inured them to social media posts that Trump might be considering some action or another.
The real damage to NATO unity was done by Trump鈥檚 , and his intent to annex the island, which is a semiautonomous part of ally Denmark, including sending family members and administration officials there.
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Emma Burrows reported from London, and Lorne Cook from Brussels. Jamey Keaten in Geneva, and Aamer Madhani in Washington, contributed to this report.
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