Trump pulls 5,000 US troops out of Germany in stunning rebuke to Europe amid clash with Chancellor Merz

The Pentagon announced Friday that it will withdraw 5,000 troops from Donald Trump’s NATO ally Germany as the dispute between the president and Europe escalates over the Iran war.

Trump had threatened to withdraw his forces after a debate with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz earlier this week; Merz said on Monday that the Iranians had belittled the United States in talks to end the two-month war and that he did not understand what kind of exit strategy Washington was pursuing.

The president attacked Merz earlier Friday, saying ‘he’s doing a terrible job and he has a big problem with Ukraine because they’re in this mess too.’

A senior Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Germany’s recent rhetoric was “inappropriate and unhelpful.”

“The President is rightfully reacting to these counterproductive statements,” the official said.

The withdrawal is expected to be completed within the next six to 12 months, the Pentagon said. Germany is home to nearly 35,000 active-duty U.S. military personnel, more than anywhere else in Europe.

That reduction would bring U.S. military levels in Europe roughly to pre-2022 levels before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered a buildup by then-President Joe Biden, the official said.

The official also made the decision in view of the Trump administration’s push for Europe to become the continent’s main security provider.

But it’s still another powerful reminder of Trump’s willingness to respond to perceived disloyalty by his allies.

Trump had threatened to withdraw his forces after an argument with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz earlier this week (pictured)

Reuters last week exclusively reported an internal Pentagon email outlining Washington’s options for punishing NATO allies it believes do not support US operations in the war with Iran, including suspending Spain from NATO and reviewing the US position on Britain’s claim to the Falkland Islands.

Trump singled out Germany even as he chastised other NATO allies for not sending their navies to help open the Strait of Hormuz during the conflict.

The waterway, a transit point for global oil shipments, remained virtually closed, causing market turmoil and an unprecedented disruption to energy supplies.

Merz said the Germans and Europeans were not consulted before the US and Israel began attacking Iran on February 28, and then conveyed their suspicions about the conflict directly to Trump.

“The president has made very clear his frustration with our allies’ rhetoric and their failure to provide support for U.S. operations that benefit them,” a senior Pentagon official said.

The president has long wanted to reduce the US military presence in Germany. He pushed for cuts at the end of his first term, but the cut was never enacted. ​

Trump lost the election and Biden reversed the plan.

The president’s announcement on Wednesday that he would review U.S. troop levels in Germany surprised German military officials who spoke to Reuters, citing what they called constructive meetings at the Pentagon earlier in the day.

Members of the U.S. Army’s 7th Army Training Command in Germany

The president has long wanted to reduce the US military presence in Germany. He pushed for cuts at the end of his first term, but the cuts were never enacted

They argue that Germany has done more than other allies to support the US war in Iran, including allowing the use of bases and issuing overflight permits.

Germany also hosts a major military hospital in Landstuhl.

As part of Trump’s withdrawal decision, a brigade combat team currently based in Germany will withdraw from the country and a long-range fire battalion that the Biden administration plans to deploy to Germany later this year will no longer be deployed, the official said.

Earlier this week, Trump said on social media that the Chancellor “wants Iran to have nuclear weapons.”

He continued his attack in a Truth Social post on Thursday, claiming Merz should ‘spend more time ending the war with Russia/Ukraine’ and ‘repair his broken Country’.

The US President added that the Chancellor should ‘spend less time interfering with those who eliminate the Iranian Nuclear threat’.

Merz said in his speech on Monday: ‘An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially the so-called Revolutionary Guard. So I hope this ends as quickly as possible.’

The chancellor criticized Washington for not having a clear exit strategy from the Iran war and reiterated that Germany was not consulted before the US-Israeli attacks, after which he conveyed his skepticism directly to Trump.

“If I had known it was going to continue like this for five or six weeks and get progressively worse, I would have told him even more emphatically,” Merz said.