The Week America Picked A Fight With Its Oldest Ally In Europe
It started with one sentence.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was visiting a school in the small town of Marsberg last Tuesday when he said something that set off a chain reaction across two continents.
He told reporters the U.S. had been “humiliated by the Iranian leadership” and was fighting a war with no strategy and no exit plan.
Within hours, Trump fired back on Truth Social, telling Merz to stop “interfering” and spend more time “fixing his broken country.”
He called NATO a “paper tiger” and “absolutely useless.”
By Friday, the Pentagon had signed the order.
5,000 Troops Are Coming Home
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the withdrawal of approximately 5,000 American troops from Germany over the next six to 12 months.
That drops the total from about 36,000 to roughly 30,000 – back to pre-2022 levels, before Russia invaded Ukraine.
A Pentagon spokesman called it a “thorough review of force posture.” Nobody in Berlin or Washington is buying that framing.
One U.S. defense official told reporters the military impact would be limited, but the message about American commitment is “very different.”
Then He Went After Their Cars
On the exact same day the troop order dropped, Trump announced he was raising tariffs on EU cars and trucks to 25%.
He accused the EU of violating the Turnberry trade deal from last July, which had set tariffs at 15%. The EU rejected the claim and said it had been honoring its commitments.
Germany’s auto industry gets hit hardest. Mercedes, BMW, and Volkswagen all ship a large share of the cars they sell in America from European plants.
The EU had estimated the original deal was saving European automakers between 500 and 600 million euros per month. That cushion is now gone.
He Says More Is Coming
Asked Saturday about the withdrawal, Trump skipped the explanation.
“We’re going to cut way down. And we’re cutting a lot further than 5,000.”
He also threatened to pull troops from Italy and Spain, calling both countries “absolutely horrible” for refusing to help with the Iran war. The U.S. keeps over 12,500 troops in Italy and close to 4,000 in Spain.
His Own Party Broke Ranks
Republican Armed Services chairs Roger Wicker and Mike Rogers released a joint statement saying they were “very concerned.”
They warned the move risked “sending the wrong signal to Vladimir Putin” while Russia’s war in Ukraine enters its fifth year.
They also revealed the Pentagon quietly canceled the planned deployment of the Army’s Long-Range Fires Battalion to Germany – a detail the administration had not announced.
Europe Is Talking About Going It Alone
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius called the withdrawal “anticipated” and said Europeans must take on more responsibility.
Poland’s Prime Minister condemned the “ongoing disintegration” of the transatlantic alliance.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Europe is “not strong enough” and that Britain needs to be “at the heart of a stronger Europe on defense.”
Germany is already rearming fast. Under Merz, the country is on track to spend over 3% of GDP on defense by next year – well above NATO’s old 2% target.
This Has Happened Before
In 2020, Trump ordered 9,500 troops out of Germany over a spending dispute with Angela Merkel. It never happened. Biden reversed it in 2021.
This time the order is signed, the timeline is set, and Ramstein Air Base – headquarters for U.S. Air Forces in Europe – is still in Germany.
But nobody is treating that as a given anymore.