U.S. Troops in Germany Could Face Drawdown, Says Trump
President Donald Trump rattled the U.S.-Germany alliance Wednesday, announcing on Truth Social that Washington is actively considering pulling American military forces out of Germany amid a rapidly deteriorating relationship with Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The announcement landed without warning, posted to Trump’s Truth Social account Wednesday afternoon.
“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 wrote.
No timeline beyond “the next short period of time” was given, and no specific troop numbers were identified for a potential cut.
The move comes on the heels of a blistering public exchange between Trump and Merz that broke into the open earlier this week over the subject of Iran and its nuclear ambitions.
Trump took direct aim at the German chancellor in a Tuesday Truth Social post, accusing Merz of holding a dangerous position on one of the world’s most volatile security threats.
“The Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” Trump wrote.
He did not stop there. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about! If Iran had a Nuclear Weapon, the whole World would be held hostage,” the president continued.
Trump then tied Germany’s foreign policy stance directly to its economic condition. “I am doing something with Iran, right now, that other Nations, or Presidents, should have done long ago. No wonder Germany is doing so poorly, both Economically, and otherwise!”
Those words from Trump came in apparent response to a speech Merz delivered Monday in the German city of Marsberg, where the chancellor told students that the United States was being “humiliated by the Iranian leadership.”
Merz also told the audience he hopes the ongoing conflict ends “as quickly as possible.”
Despite the public war of words, Merz attempted to downplay the damage to the bilateral relationship on Wednesday.
“From my perspective, my personal relationship with the U.S. President remains good,” Merz told reporters. “I simply had doubts from the start about what was begun with the war in Iran. That is why I have made that clear.”
The two leaders have a documented history of clashing. Across both of Trump’s presidential terms, disputes over tariffs and defense spending have repeatedly put Washington and Berlin at odds.
The Iran conflict added fresh fuel to that fire earlier this month, when Merz publicly stated he did not believe NATO should become involved in the war — a position that put him at direct odds with Trump, who has been pushing allied nations to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.
Germany’s troop hosting numbers underscore just how significant any reduction would be. As of December 2025, more than 36,000 active-duty American service members were stationed in Germany — more than in any other European country — according to the Defense Manpower Data Center.
Those forces represent the largest single-country share of the roughly 68,000 American troops permanently assigned to bases across Europe at that time.
That 36,000-strong presence is itself a shadow of what once existed. At the peak of Cold War tensions in 1985, approximately 250,000 American troops were based in Germany before drawdowns followed the fall of the Berlin Wall.
During Trump’s first term, he pursued plans to remove 12,000 troops from Germany, a move that was later halted under the Biden administration.
The Pentagon referred questions about the latest announcement to the White House, which offered no immediate comment.
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