WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened a possible reduction of U.S. forces in Germany as his dispute with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the U.S.-Israel war with Iran continued.
Trump announced on social media that “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.” The move came after Merz said earlier this week that Iran was “humiliating” the United States and criticized Washington for lacking a clear strategy in the conflict. Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO for not aiding the U.S. in the two-month-old war.
Merz, speaking Wednesday, said his personal relationship with Trump remained “as good as ever,” but added that he had “had doubts from the very beginning about what was started there with the war in Iran.” During Trump’s first term, he also sought to cut the U.S. military presence in Germany, arguing the country did not spend enough on defense. In June 2020, Trump announced plans to withdraw about 9,500 of roughly 34,500 U.S. troops stationed in Germany; the pullout never began, and President Joe Biden formally halted the planned reduction after taking office in 2021.
The United States maintains major facilities in Germany, including the headquarters for U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command, Ramstein Air Base and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the largest U.S. hospital outside the United States.
Merz met with Trump at the White House in March, days after the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran. At that meeting, Merz said Germany wanted to work with the U.S. on a plan for the period after the current Iranian government is gone and warned that a prolonged conflict could severely harm the global economy.
European leaders have grown increasingly concerned as the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial waterway through which about 20% of the world’s oil flowed before the war — has been effectively closed since the conflict began on Feb. 28. “We are suffering considerably in Germany and in Europe from the consequences of, for example, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” Merz said Wednesday, urging that the conflict be resolved. He also said his government remained “on good speaking terms” with the Trump administration.
Trump, meanwhile, has openly expressed frustration with Merz. On Tuesday he wrote that “The Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about!” Trump added it was no surprise “that Germany is doing so poorly, both economically and in other respects!”