President Donald Trump's announcement Wednesday that he was considering pulling some U.S. troops out of Germany stunned defense officials, who scrambled to figure out if the president was serious about following through on his threats this time.
US Troops are stationed in Germany for one reason: to protect the United States. They are NOT there to protect Germany. In the event of a genuine attack from overseas, troops stationed in Germany (and elsewhere) greatly reduce the US response time. Trump is punishing America, not Germany.
-- Ambassador Ken Fairfax (ret) (@portlandken.bsky.social) May 2, 2026 at 8:07 AM
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His 90 minute conversation with his Lord and master, Vlad Putin, preceded his latest perfidious blathering: https://substack.com/@adamkinzinger/note/c-251302411?r=29x0w8&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
From Adam Kinzinger's Substack;
Trump, after having a 90 min phone call with Putin, puts out a truth social that he is considering withdrawing troops from Germany. Something sinister is going on between this US administration and Russia's.
https://substack.com/@adamkinzinger/note/c-251302411?r=r57tm&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
If USA pulls out of Germany, AFD gets stronger and so does every kleptofascist movement around the world.
US to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany in next 6-12 months, fulfilling Trump's threat
www.newsnationnow.com
... The United States will withdraw about 5,000 troops from Germany in the next six to 12 months, the Pentagon said Friday, fulfilling President Donald Trump's threat as he clashes with the German leader over the U.S. war with Iran.
Trump had threatened to withdraw some troops from the NATO ally earlier this week after Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the U.S. was being "humiliated" by the Iranian leadership and criticized Washington's lack of strategy in the war.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement that the "decision follows a thorough review of the Department's force posture in Europe and is in recognition of theater requirements and conditions on the ground."
Germany hosts several U.S. military facilities, including the headquarters of its European and Africa commands, Ramstein Air Base and a medical center in Landstuhl, where casualties from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were treated. U.S. nuclear missiles are also stationed in the country.
The number of troops leaving Germany would be 14% of the 36,000 American service members stationed there.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius called it "foreseeable" that the U.S. would withdraw troops from Europe and Germany, while he sought to stress mutual benefit from the U.S. military presence on the European continent.
"The presence of American soldiers in Europe, and especially in Germany, is in our interest and in the interest of the U.S.," Pistorius told the German news agency dpa, while adding that European allies needed to adjust their defense postures -- and were doing so. ...
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2paragraphs.com - Ex-GOP Congressman Says "Something Sinister" Is Going On Between Trump and Putin
|------- Adam Kinzinger said: "Trump, after having a 90 min phone call with Putin, puts out a truth social that he is considering withdrawing all troops from Germany. Something sinister is going on between them. It's time for 'concerned' Republicans to speak out."
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According to AP: "... U.S. defense official... said the branches of the U.S. military didn't have prior knowledge of the decision [announced on Truth Social] to draw down the 5,000 troops and learned about it 'in real time.' " ...
.
More of recent Trum/Putin and their attempts to rehab Putin with the US and/or the West (Reverse Kissinger):
1. Trump's State Dept is preparing to officially invite Putin to G20 summit in Miami (though Trump coyly said he wants "to invite Putin but doubts he will come" while Putin's FM coyly said "G20 is very important").
2. There were plans for Putin's proposal inviting Trump to Russia's WWII Victory Day parade on May 9 as a sign and possible announcement of thawing relations between US and Russia, as well as a one-day unilateral "ceasefire" with Ukraine, but due to military shortages and fears of UA drone attacks, both Moscow's annual military parade and the guest list (that had 29 heads of state last year including China's Xi and Brazil's Lula, but conspicuously absent India's Modi), were "downsized" and it became obvious that inviting Trump would not a good look at this time, so it was scrapped during their 90-minute conversation.
Victory Day is on of the most important holidays in Russia, and Putin tied the war in Ukraine to the Soviet Union's (not Allies) victory over Nazi Germany, as part of a broader historical struggle against "Nazism."
As Europe and Asia (Japan, Korea etc.) are taking more active financial and military role in Ukraine's defense, along with advanced homegrown industry (UA's Sting interceptor drones took down over 32,000 Russian drones in March alone), they look visibly less and less to the US (Trump) for solutions... and that's not good long term for the US:
kyivindependent.com - How Zelensky ran out of patience with Trump " and what it means for US-Ukraine relations - 2026-04-30
|------- In just two months, President Volodymyr Zelensky shifted from being the first world leader to back a U.S. military operation in the Middle East to openly criticizing Washington's foreign policy. ...
... In Ukrainian, there is a phrase often translated as "nerves of steel," and many in Kyiv use it when describing Zelensky's approach to dealing with U.S. President Donald Trump.
For months, that approach meant restraint. ... But recent months have shown a noticeable shift. ...
"It's disrespectful to come to Moscow and not Kyiv, it's just disrespectful," he said on April 20.
Zelensky also criticized U.S. Vice President JD Vance for praising the halt of American military aid to Ukraine, saying the stance benefits Russia and weakens the United States. ...
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TrumPutin is actively pursuing "Russia First" and "America Alone" policies. No one cares [to guess] what he thinks anymore, because he himself doesn't know and just keyfabes it day-to-day, so as much as possible they cut him (and the US) out of the loop on foreign and trade relationships.
He doesn't have "all the cards" but he has quite enough of them to seriously damage the US for a long time.
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