President Donald Trump, right, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey during a formal arrival at the Bestepe Presidential Palace at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, on Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (Emrah Gurel/AP)
President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to pull all U.S. troops from Europe if Denmark refuses to relinquish Greenland, adding fresh uncertainty to the NATO-U.S. relationship as leaders gather for an annual alliance summit in Turkey.
Shortly after arriving in Ankara for the meeting, Trump reiterated his demand that Greenland come under U.S. control because of its strategic importance in the Arctic. He also complained about Europe’s opposition to such a move.
“With all the money we spend to help them with Russia … we don’t have to spend any money. We could remove all of our soldiers out of Europe,” Trump said.
Trump’s broadside overshadowed a summit opening day that many NATO leaders hoped would focus on demonstrating unity against Russia and bolstering Ukraine.
Instead, Trump’s opening remarks revived questions about Washington’s long-term military commitment in Europe even before he sat down with allied leaders.
Trump said he nearly skipped the summit altogether and repeated complaints over what he described as NATO allies’ unwillingness to support the United States during its military campaign against Iran.
“We’ve invested trillions of dollars in NATO,” Trump said. “Why? To protect European countries … from, generally speaking, what used to be the Soviet Union. Now it’s Russia.”
Trump said he expected allies to be willing to assist the United States when needed.
“I say that’s fine, but you would think they’d be very willing to do something to help us, and they really weren’t,” he said.
The remarks point to a NATO summit centered on Trump’s continued criticism of the alliance.
Trump singled out the United Kingdom, saying its government had offered support only after the conflict had ended, an offer he dismissed as unhelpful.
“I don’t need that kind of help,” Trump said. “We didn’t need any help at all.”
Trump’s comments injected fresh uncertainty into the future of the roughly 80,000 U.S. troops stationed across Europe, whose presence has underpinned NATO’s deterrence posture for decades.
The U.S. president has long criticized NATO, complaining that European countries do not spend enough on their own defense. Member states have responded by sharply increasing military spending.
At last year’s summit in The Hague, NATO nations agreed to dedicate 5% of GDP to defense. Many allies are on path to reach that target. The moves do not appear to have satisfied Trump.
Speaking ahead of the two-day summit, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said report cards will be handed out during the event.
When asked during a call with reporters if the U.S. was preparing measures to punish those who fall short, Whitaker answered: “Yes, but nothing I’m going to talk about on this call.”
