German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, left, poses with President Donald Trump in this still from a video taken during Merz's visit to the White House on June 5, 2025. During the visit, Trump said he wants to maintain the U.S. troop presence in Germany. (The White House)
President Donald Trump said this week that he wants to keep American forces in Germany, where questions have been raised for months about the future of the tens of thousands of service members stationed at numerous U.S. bases the country hosts.
When asked Thursday whether he intends to maintain the U.S. troop presence on the key NATO ally’s territory, Trump replied: “The answer is yes.”
“We have a lot of them, about 45,000,” he said. “It’s a lot of troops. It’s a city.”
Trump’s comments came during a White House meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and coincide with a push by Berlin to meet Trump’s demands for more defense spending.
Trump said he and Merz would discuss the status of U.S. forces in the country. His favorable characterization of Germany during Merz’s visit contrasts with the harder line he took toward Berlin during his first term.
At that time, Germany bore the brunt of Trump’s criticisms about NATO allies’ paltry defense spending. And the previously inadequate German military budgets were one reason Trump sought to pull 12,000 troops out of the country at the end of his tenure.
The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 changed the German government’s thinking on defense needs, however, as Merz’s predecessor, Olaf Scholz, declared it a “turning point.”
Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Germany gradually began to rebuild its military capabilities and has committed to raising its defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product, in line with Trump’s demands to fellow NATO members.
A German flag flies during a NATO training exercise Nov. 17, 2024, at Camp Aachen, a U.S. military training area in Bavaria. President Donald Trump said June 5, 2025, that he wants to keep U.S. troops based in Germany. The answer offered clarity after months of worry that the U.S. would end its long-standing military presence in the country. (Thomas McCarty/U.S. Army)
On Thursday, Trump said Germany is dedicating “quite a bit more money” to its military now.
Trump’s reassurances came in the context of a global force posture review by the Pentagon that could have implications for how U.S. personnel are deployed worldwide.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has called on European allies to shoulder more of the security burden on the Continent so the U.S. can dedicate more attention and forces to countering China in the Pacific region.
That could mean reductions to the roughly 80,000 troops that now operate across Europe, although the Pentagon has said there are no immediate plans for reductions.
While it’s not clear whether some of the U.S. forces in Germany could be reduced, Trump’s comments suggest a total withdrawal is likely off the table for now.
