Already a subscriber? Make sure to log into your account before viewing this content. You can access your account by hitting the “login” button on the top right corner. Still unable to see the content after signing in? Make sure your card on file is up-to-date.

German officials have downplayed President Donald Trump’s threat to pull US troops out of the country.

Some shit you should know before you dig in: If you’re unaware, the US keeps roughly 40,000 troops permanently stationed in Germany, making it the largest American military presence anywhere in Europe (Ramstein Air Base, the Landstuhl military hospital, and headquarters for both US European Command and US Africa Command are all based there). Back in 2020, Trump announced plans to pull about 10,000 troops from Germany but was ultimately blocked by Congress, and Biden reversed the order once he took office. In the last few days, tensions between Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz have flared up over the US-Israeli war on Iran, with Merz openly criticizing the US’s handling of the conflict and claiming that Iran was “humiliating” the US. This pissed off Trump, who took to Truth Social to claim Merz wanted Iran to have a nuclear weapon and “doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” then escalated Wednesday night by announcing the troop review.

What’s going on now: German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told reporters in Morocco on Thursday that Berlin was prepared for any troop reductions and had been expecting the review for some time, but he made clear Germany doesn’t see the major US bases on its soil as being on the table. Wadephul said the Ramstein Air Base “serves an irreplaceable function for both the US and us,” and listed off the Landstuhl military hospital, the Grafenwoehr training area, and the US military headquarters in Stuttgart as strategically essential to both countries and to NATO.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz didn’t address Trump’s threat directly during a Thursday visit with German troops at a base in Munster, but he leaned hard into Berlin’s commitment to NATO and the transatlantic alliance, calling it “particularly close to our hearts – and to mine personally.”

Trump’s troop review post late Wednesday gave no specifics on numbers or timing, only saying a determination would come “over the next short period of time.” By Thursday morning, he was back at it, telling Merz to focus on “fixing his broken Country, especially Immigration and Energy” and to stop interfering with US efforts on Iran.

The German chancellor has tried to keep things steady through the back-and-forth, saying earlier in the week that his personal relationship with Trump remains “good” despite the public spat.