Trump says US studying troop cuts in Germany, after Merz criticises war

Trump responded the following day with a post to Truth Social, where he said Merz thought it was "OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon" and "doesn't know what he's talking about.""No wonder Germany is doing so poorly, both Economically, and otherwise!" the post read. When asked about the post in a press conference on Wednesday, Merz said the "personal relationship between the American president and myself remains just as good as before."He has not yet responded to Trump's suggestion that he could reduce US troops in Germany.The US military deployment in Germany is by far its biggest in Europe, with about 12,000 troops in Italy and a further 10,000 in the UK. Many are stationed at the big Ramstein air base outside the southwestern German city of Kaiserslautern. And while Trump has proposed US troop reductions in Germany before, they have so far not come into effect.In 2020, a proposal to move 12,000 US troops from Germany either to other Nato countries in Europe or back to the US, was blocked by Congress and then reversed by President Joe Biden.At the time, Trump had accused Germany of being "delinquent" because its military spending was well below Nato's target of 2% of economic output (GDP). But that has changed dramatically under the Merz government: Germany is projected to spend €105.8bn (£91bn) in 2027 - with total defence expenditure next year set to reach 3.1% of GDP.Merz said after talks with Trump in Washington in March that Trump had assured him the US would maintain its military presence in Germany, adding that he had not expected anything else.