In brief
- Donald Trump has posted on his Truth Social platform, suggesting the US might cut back its troop numbers in Germany.
- About 36,400 active-duty US military personnel are assigned permanently in Germany.
United States President Donald Trump, who has been sparring with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in recent days, said on Thursday that his administration is considering reducing the number of US troops in Germany.
Trump has criticised Germany and other NATO allies for not sending their navies to help open the Strait of Hormuz, as the US and Israeli war with Iran continues to hold up global oil distribution via the critical waterway.
"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 posted on Truth Social.
A senior White House official had told Reuters earlier this month that Trump had discussed the possibility of removing some US troops from Europe.
The US had just over 68,000 active-duty military personnel assigned permanently in its overseas bases in Europe as of December 2025, data from the US Defense Manpower Data Centre (DMDC) shows.
More than half — about 36,400 — are based in Germany. That is a fraction of the 250,000 US troops stationed there in 1985, before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War.
Trump and Merz's war of words
Trump has lashed out at Merz over the war in Iran in recent days.
Earlier this week, Merz had said Iran's leadership was humiliating the US in talks to end the two-month-old war, and that he did not see what exit strategy the Trump administration was pursuing.
The following day, Trump wrote on Truth Social: "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! If Iran had a Nuclear Weapon, the whole World would be held hostage. 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!"
Nonetheless, Merz later said relations with Trump were good despite the row.
Trump's latest post came hours after Germany's top general, Carsten Breuer, met with US defence undersecretary Elbridge Colby and other US defence officials to discuss his country's first military strategy outside the NATO umbrella since World War Two.
Colby lauded the German document, which lays out Berlin's goal to become Europe's largest conventional force in a series of posts on X after it was released last week, saying it showed "a clear path forward".
"President Trump has rightly laid out that Europe must step up, and NATO must no longer be a paper tiger," Colby said on X. "Germany is now taking the leading role in this. After years of disarmament, Berlin is stepping up."
Breuer told reporters in Washington that Colby showed "great appreciation" for Germany's military strategy and its push to take on a greater leadership role in NATO, and its financial commitment to reach that goal.
Breuer gave no indication that US officials had discussed the prospect of reducing US troops in Germany.
The German embassy had no immediate comment. The Pentagon referred queries to the White House, which had no immediate comment.
Trump has long been critical of Germany and other European countries for failing to spend more on their own defence, although he had lauded NATO members' decision to boost their defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP.
Tensions flared again after NATO allies refused to give Trump the support he demanded for the war against Iran, which Trump launched together with Israel without consulting or informing them.
Trump's push to acquire Greenland from NATO member Denmark, which has been firmly rebuffed, also strained ties at the political level.
Jeff Rathke, a former US diplomat and president of the American-German Institute at Johns Hopkins University, said Trump sought a major reduction in US troop levels in Germany during his first term, but that was never realised.
Rathke said the US military benefited greatly from having a forward presence at bases overseas, including Ramstein in Germany.
"US forces in Europe are not a charitable contribution to ungrateful Europeans — they are an instrument of America’s global military reach," he said.
US and German military officials say their working relationship remains strong despite Trump's sporadic social media posts about quitting NATO or cutting troops.
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