West Palm Beach, May 3: President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the US will significantly reduce its troop presence in Germany, escalating a dispute with Chancellor Friedrich Merz as he seeks to scale back America's commitment to European security.

The Pentagon had initially announced it would pull some 5,000 troops out of Germany, but when asked Saturday about the reason for the move, Trump didn't offer an explanation and said an even bigger reduction was coming. "We're going to cut way down. And we're cutting a lot further than 5,000," Trump told reporters in Florida.
Earlier on Saturday, Germany's defence minister appeared to take in stride the news that 5,000 US troops would be leaving his country. (AP)