President Donald Trump said on April 1 that the United States is reviewing a possible reduction of troops in Germany and is considering withdrawing from NATO over European allies' failure to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said the United States is "studying and reviewing the possible reduction of troops in Germany," with a determination to be made over the next short period of time. He called allies cowards for declining to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and has criticized NATO members for failing to spend adequately on their defense budgets, saying they "ripped off" the United States.

Trump said he was "absolutely without question" considering withdrawing from the alliance because of the European allies' failure to take part in the US-Israeli war on Iran and help secure the economically vital waterway. He has previously threatened to leave NATO, calling the alliance a "paper tiger." U.S. legislation passed in 2024 prevents a president from withdrawing from NATO without a two-thirds Senate majority or an act of Congress.

As of 2025, the United States had almost 85,000 troops stationed in Europe, with more than 40 bases across the region. According to the Congressional Research Service, Germany houses the largest contingent of U.S. troops in Europe, with more than 35,000 troops in 2024. Germany is home to the headquarters of U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command, and Ramstein Air Base is a key hub for U.S. operations. The U.S. military presence in Germany dates back to the aftermath of World War II and the Cold War.

In 2020, Trump announced plans to pull around 12,000 U.S. forces from Germany, saying Germany was "delinquent" in military spending. Former President Joe Biden reversed those plans.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, responding to the impasse over Iran's nuclear programme and the Strait of Hormuz, said, "Europe is suffering from the consequences of the closure of the Hormuz strait." Trump canceled a second trip by U.S. negotiators to Islamabad last week. Merz said, "The Iranians are obviously very skilled at negotiating, or rather, very skilful at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result." Merz also said, "The Americans clearly have no strategy" on Iran.

Ivo Daalder, who served as U.S. permanent representative at NATO headquarters from 2009 to 2013, said, "Hard to see how any European country will now be able and willing to trust the United States to come to its defence."