US President Donald Trump indicated he was open to drawing down American military personnel from other NATO members a day after saying he was reviewing US troop levels in Germany.
Asked if he was considering pulling troops from Spain and Italy as well, Trump responded, “yeah, probably.” The president raised concerns about those countries’ willingness to help the US in its war against Iran.
“Look, why shouldn’t I? Italy has not been of any help to us, and Spain has been horrible, absolutely horrible,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday.
“We help them with Ukraine,” he added. Trump has repeatedly argued that Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor is primarily a European concern.
Spain has emerged as one of Europe’s most outspoken critics of Trump and the Iran war. The country has barred the use of its airspace and the two US bases on its territory for operations supporting the strikes on Iran, angering Washington.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who had cultivated close ties with Trump, has navigated a falling-out with the American leader, who attacked her verbally after she defended Pope Leo XIV against Trump’s broadsides.
Trump’s comments were the latest in a his attacks on European allies for not doing enough to pay for their own defense and support the US war in Iran.
On Wednesday, Trump said the US was reviewing its troop levels in Germany with an eye toward reducing them. That came just days after comments from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that questioned US handling of the Iran war in unusually blunt terms, saying the administration was being “humiliated.”
German officials played down the threat of troop cuts, noting that the bases there are vital to US security.
Any effort to reduce troop levels in Europe would likely face opposition in Congress. His last attempt to remove forces from Germany, in 2020, was blocked by legislative opposition. Current US law sets a minimum of 76,000 troops permanently stationed or deployed in Europe.