European Security — 2026-07-07

Trump Threatens to Remove All US Troops from Europe Over Greenland Dispute at NATO Summit

BLUFTrump's public escalation converts a private drawdown proposal into diplomatic leverage on Greenland, but a Pentagon cut below 80,000 troops by year-end remains genuinely uncertain after advisers already blocked deeper reductions.

Speaking to reporters in Ankara ahead of the NATO summit, President Trump renewed his demand that Greenland "should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark," and said "we could remove all of our soldiers out of Europe" over the continent's refusal to go along 12. CNN reported that Trump privately floated cutting US forces in Europe by a third during a White House meeting this spring, and that the Pentagon has already canceled two planned deployments and ordered other personnel withdrawn from the continent 3. Roughly 80,000 US troops are currently stationed across Europe, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in June opted for a six-month posture review rather than announcing the deeper cuts he had prepared 23. A US-Denmark-Greenland working group has been meeting on the territory's status since January, with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen saying last month he expects a resolution by year's end 1.

Analysis
Trump's public threat to strip all US forces from Europe elevates a plan he privately floated this spring into pressure on both NATO burden-sharing and the Greenland dispute ahead of the working group's year-end target, though a Pentagon cut to the roughly 80,000-troop baseline by year's end is genuinely uncertain. Hegseth's June retreat to a six-month posture review, after preparing steeper cuts, shows the administration still weighing allied pushback against Trump's unilateral impulse; moderate confidence reflects consistent reporting on internal Pentagon deliberations but no visibility into the review's findings, and a firm reduction requires Trump to overrule advisers who already delayed his preferred cuts once. The threat may function primarily as summit leverage to extract defense-spending concessions rather than signal imminent policy change. European defense ministries face a binary planning choice: a confirmed cut forces emergency reallocation to fill US capability gaps, while a continued review lets allies proceed on already-pledged spending increases.

4 sources

Trump renews Greenland threats at NATO summit, says U.S. could remove troops from Europe - CNBC
Trump warns US could withdraw troops from Europe over Greenland dispute - Stars and Stripes
Trump mused about cutting troops in Europe by a third to send a message to NATO - CNN
Trump threatens to remove all US troops from Europe - Financial Times