Donald Trump has threatened to pull US troops out of three European countries amid his growing criticism of NATO. He previously branded the alliance a “paper tiger” where the US defends Europe but receives no support in return.
He has now issued a threat to Germany, Italy and Spain as relations continue to strain. The US President has criticised allies for not sending ships to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and is now threatening to withdraw his troops due to a lack of support. He said both Italy and Spain “haven’t exactly been on board”, dubbing support from the latter as “horrible”.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “The United States is reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time.”
He has since expanded the threat to include troops based in Italy and Spain. After being asked about cutting soldiers in the two countries, Trump said: “I mean, they haven’t exactly been on board.”
He continued: “Yeah, [I] probably will. Why shouldn’t I? Italy has not been of any help. Spain has been horrible. Absolutely.”
It comes after the US President previously lashed out at German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who called the war in the Middle East “ill-considered”. Trump claimed Merz “thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” adding: “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about!”
According to data from the US Defense Manpower Data Center released in December, there are over 36,400 active duty American military personnel stationed in Germany. Meanwhile, there are over 12,600 in Italy and more than 3,800 in Spain.
However, removing troops would be both difficult to do amid the current war in Iran and expensive given there’s a lack of housing available to the troops and their families back in the US. But Sean Parnell, the Pentagon spokesman, said the department “plans for every scenario and we are fully prepared to execute the orders of the commander-in-chief at the time and place of his choosing.”
The threats have shocked countries in Europe, with Italy’s Defence Minister, Guido Crosetto, telling news agency ANSA that he “didn’t understand the reasons” behind rmoving troops. He claimed Italy is also providing help to Ukraine amid its war with Russia.
He explained: “As it’s clear to anyone, we haven’t used the Strait of Hormuz. And we’ve even offered to carry out a mission to protect shipping – a gesture that was actually greatly appreciated by the US military. The incredible thing is that they’ve used the Strait of Hormuz, while we don’t.”
