Trump Orders 5,000 US Troops Out of Germany After Merz Criticizes American Social Climate and Job Market

" Merz made the remarks Friday at a Catholic congress in Würzburg, northern Bavaria, during a panel discussion on future prospects for German youth. "I am a great admirer of America," Merz said. " Merz did not specify what kind of social change he had in mind.

The Times reported that the chancellor, who used to chair an influential German-American friendship group, has made a series of remarks in recent weeks that have strained relations with the Trump administration. Over the past three weeks Merz made remarks suggesting that the Iranian leadership was “humiliating” the entire nation of America in ceasefire negotiations.

President Trump said that Merz was doing a “terrible job” and announced that 5,000 US troops would be pulled out of Germany.

Only hours after the Würzburg comments, Merz announced that he and Trump had a “good” phone call as the American president returned from China. ” The Pentagon indicated it planned to cancel the deployment of about 4,000 US soldiers to bases in the west of Poland. The unit in question may be an armoured combat brigade team.

Combined with the partial withdrawal from Germany, this would bring the American military presence in Europe to its lowest level since 2022, according to analysts. American defence officials said they had been blindsided by the announcement. Mark Montgomery, a former rear-admiral in the US navy and now a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies research institute in Washington, said the decision to draw down personnel was “illogical and disappointing” and would make it harder for Nato to deter a Russian attack on its eastern flank.