Berlin’s backlash: Merz rebukes Trump as he moots pulling U.S. troops from Germany
Germany’s conservative leader Friedrich Merz has delivered a blunt public rebuke of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, triggering an irate response from the White House and fresh strains across the NATO alliance.
Merz’s remarks, focused on U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and the faltering ceasefire efforts that followed, have sharpened a wider debate in Europe over how to manage both Moscow’s aggression and Washington’s unpredictability. Merz said this week that America had been humiliated by Iran’s leadership and its Revolutionary Guards, adding that he hoped the crisis would end quickly.
Outraged by the criticism, Trump mooted pulling U.S. troops out of Germany and, after Italy and Spain refused to allow their territory to be used to attack Iran, suggested he might do the same in those two allied nations. “Look, why shouldn’t I? Italy has not been of any help to us and Spain has been horrible,” he said.
The diplomatic tit-for-tat lands as NATO readies Sword 26, a multinational exercise involving 5,000 U.S. personnel and 10,000 troops from allied countries, training for operations from the Baltic to the Black Sea. NATO is commanded in Europe by Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Alexus G.
Grynkewich, who told the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee in March that key posture locations on the continent preserve the president’s military options in a crisis and enable the rapid deployment and sustainment of combat-credible forces. Allies and commanders are trying to keep the alliance functional amid rising internal friction.
Russia’s threats—hybrid and conventional—are immediate, the article notes, but rapid responses depend on U.S. support. The U.S. president did not consult NATO allies before launching strikes alongside Israel on Iran and has been angered by their refusal to participate.
NATO is a defensive alliance that obliges members to respond to aggression against an ally; it is not an offensive organization, a distinction that has been at issue in Trump’s exchanges with partners. The stakes for Europe—and Germany in particular—are high. Up to 90,000 American troops are stationed across Europe.
About 35,000 are in Germany, which serves as the main logistics and medical hub, especially at Ramstein Air Base. The U.S. Navy’s Sixth Fleet operates from Naples, where close to 13,000 American personnel serve across army, navy and air force facilities. Another 3,800 U.S.
personnel are based in Spain, a gateway for operations in Europe and beyond. These bases also underpin U.S. operations in Africa and the Middle East; missions in Libya, Iraq and Syria have been run from Europe, and access to the Sahel hinges on infrastructure tied to NATO.
The backlash to Trump’s threats has not been limited to Europe. “The continued attacks on NATO allies are counterproductive, the comments hurt Americans,” Republican Representative Don Bacon wrote on X, responding to the possibility of cutting troop levels in Germany.
“The two big airfields in Germany give us great access in three continents. We are shooting ourselves in our own feet.” Behind the immediate quarrels lies a broader strategic concern: a weakened NATO serves the interests of the West’s rivals. Vladimir Putin tops the list of potential beneficiaries, and China would likely welcome the discord as well.
For now, military planners press ahead with Sword 26 and allied coordination, even as leaders in Berlin, Washington and other capitals weigh how to prevent transatlantic tensions from undermining Europe’s security architecture.