President Donald Trump said Saturday the U.S. will significantly reduce its troop presence in Germany, escalating a dispute with Chancellor Friedrich Merz as he seeks to scale back America’s commitment to European security.
The Pentagon on Friday had initially announced it would pull some 5,000 troops out of Germany, but when asked Saturday about the reason for the move, Trump didn’t offer an explanation and said an even bigger reduction was coming.
“We’re going to cut way down. And we’re cutting a lot further than 5,000,” Trump told reporters in Florida.
Earlier on Saturday, Germany’s defense minister appeared to take the news that 5,000 U.S. troops would be leaving his country in stride.
Boris Pistorius said the drawdown, which Trump has threatened for years, was expected, and he said European nations needed to take on more responsibility for their own defense. But he also emphasized that security cooperation benefited both sides of the trans-Atlantic partnership.
