Trump says ‘probably’ when asked if he might pull US troops out of Italy, Spain

President Donald Trump on Thursday said “probably” when asked whether he would consider pulling U.S. troops out of Italy and Spain, a day after announcing that Washington was looking at reducing the number of military personnel in Germany.

Trump has harshly criticized NATO allies ​for not sending their navies to help open the Strait of Hormuz , which was closed to global shipping following the start of a U.S.-Israeli air war against Iran on February 28. He has also said that he is considering withdrawing the United States from the alliance.

An internal Pentagon email, reported by Reuters last week, outlined options for the United States to punish NATO allies it believes failed to ​support U.S. operations in the war with Iran, including suspending Spain from the alliance.

Trump, who discussed the possibility of removing some U.S. troops from Europe earlier this month, on Wednesday said his administration was looking at cuts to U.S. forces in Germany and a decision would be made soon.

Asked on Thursday if he would also consider pulling U.S. troops out of Italy and Spain, two countries that have also been critical of the Iran war, Trump said, “Probably ... Look, why shouldn’t I? Italy has not been of any help to us and Spain has been horrible, absolutely horrible.”

Trump last month threatened to impose a full U.S. trade embargo on Spain after the European ally refused to let the U.S. military use its bases for missions linked to strikes on Iran.

The U.S. had just ​over 68,000 active-duty military personnel assigned permanently in its overseas bases in Europe as of December 2025, data from the U.S. Defense Manpower ​Data Center shows. More than half — about 36,400 — are based in Germany.

周四，当被问及是否会考虑从意大利和西班牙撤出美军时，唐纳德·特朗普总统表示“可能”。此前一天，他宣布华盛顿正在考虑减少驻德美军人数。

特朗普严厉批评北约盟国没有派遣海军协助打通霍尔木兹海峡。自2月28日美以对伊朗发动空袭以来，霍尔木兹海峡一直处于关闭状态，禁止全球航运。他还表示，他正在考虑让美国退出北约。

路透社上周报道的一封五角大楼内部电子邮件概述了美国惩罚其认为未能支持美国在对伊战争中行动的北约盟国的选项，其中包括暂停西班牙的北约成员资格。

特朗普本月早些时候曾讨论过从欧洲撤出部分美军的可能性，他周三表示，他的政府正在考虑削减驻德美军，并将很快做出决定。

周四，当被问及是否也会考虑从意大利和西班牙撤出美军时，特朗普表示：“可能吧……你看，我为什么不应该呢？意大利对我们没有任何帮助，而西班牙则糟糕透顶，简直糟糕透顶。”这两个国家也曾批评过伊朗战争。

上个月，特朗普威胁要对西班牙实施全面的美国贸易禁运，此前这个欧洲盟友拒绝让美军使用其基地执行与打击伊朗有关的任务。

根据美国国防人力数据中心的数据，截至2025年12月，美国在欧洲海外基地永久驻扎的现役军人略超过6.8万人。其中超过一半（约3.64万人）驻扎在德国。