US to reduce number of troops in Germany 'a lot further,' Trump says
President Donald Trump said on Saturday he intends to withdraw more US troops from Germany than already announced.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the pullback of around 5,000 US service members from bases in Germany.
However, Trump told reporters in Florida on Saturday the number would be higher.
“We’re going to cut way down,” he said “And we’re cutting a lot further than 5,000.”
A Defense Department spokesman said the withdrawal is to be concluded within the next 12 months. The details remain unclear.
The decision follows a public spat between Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz earlier in the week. Merz made an unguarded comment suggesting the Iranian government has "humiliated" the US in negotiations, prompting an angry response from Trump.
For decades, there have been dozens of major US military bases in Europe that are of enormous importance to US operations globally, including in the Middle East. In Germany, these include the US European Command in Stuttgart and Ramstein Air Base in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate, which serves as a hub for the US Air Force.
US military figures from April show some 86,000 US soldiers are currently stationed in Europe, including around 39,000 in Germany. The number changes regularly, partly because of rotations and military exercises.
