Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius earlier Saturday sought to downplay the impact of Washington’s decision to scale back its troop presence in the country, casting the move as anticipated and using it to underline Europe’s need to take greater responsibility for its own security.
NATO said it was “working with the U.S. to understand the details” of the Pentagon’s decision to pull the troops. The move “underscores the need for Europe to invest more in defense,” NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said in a statement.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the withdrawal in response to “conditions on the ground” after reviewing U.S. troop buildup in Europe, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement on Friday. The cuts would still leave around 33,000 American troops in Germany.
Trump has also threatened to remove U.S. troops from Spain and Italy. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Italian leader Giorgia Meloni, like Germany’s Merz, have been critical of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said he would “probably” remove troops from Italy and Spain. He said Italy had “not been of any help to us,” and he accused Spain of being “absolutely horrible.”
Victor Jack, Chris Lunday and Rory O’Neill contributed reporting.