Morning opening: What were you saying, Mr Merz?
Jakub Krupa
US president Donald Trump threatened to reduce the number of troops deployed in Germany last night, after chancellor Friedrich Merz said this week that the US was being “humilitated” by Iran.
Trump said the US was “studying and reviewing the possible reduction of troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time.”
Earlier yesterday, he posted a separate criticism of Merz’s Germany, saying:
“The Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about! If Iran had a Nuclear Weapon, the whole World would be held hostage. I am doing something with Iran, right now, that other Nations, or Presidents, should have done long ago. No wonder Germany is doing so poorly, both Economically, and otherwise! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
His comments come just hours after Trump’s phone call with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and – which is likely to be of significance – after Merz repeatedly criticised Trump’s decision to start the Iran war and partially blamed it for Germany’s worse than expected economic results.
At a recent meeting with high school students, Merz said that the US was “being humiliated” by Iran’s leadership through taking part in negotiations that come to nothing, and that the war “is costing us a lot of money … and a lot of economic strength.”
“This war against Iran has a direct impact on our economic performance, and for that reason it must be brought to an end as soon as possible,” he said.
Ouch.
He still insisted that his relationship with Trump was good though, but not sure that’s the case any more.
Let’s see if we are going to hear a reaction from Germany today.
Elsewhere, I will look out for comments on Trump’s phone call with Putin – including his suggestions that Ukraine is “defeated” and that Putin was working on some sort of temporary ceasefire.
It’s Thursday, 30 April 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Key events
But Trump’s threats to pull US soldiers from Germany may have limited impact (for now?) given that he has been saying these things for years.
Die Welt notes this morning that he made similar comments already during his first term 2017 to 2021.
It adds that the latest US figures suggested there were some 86,000 US soldiers in Europe, of which some 36,000 to 39,000 in Germany – with 20 bases, the largest of which are in Stuttgart and Rammstein – but these numbers tend to change due to rotations and exercises.
The latest DMDC location report from December had the number at 36,436. That’s easily the largest active duty deployment in Europe, ahead of Italy (12,662), the UK (10,156), and Spain (3,814).
Jakub Krupa
Not that it matters for Trump, but Merz isn’t exactly wrong pointing to the Iran war as at least one of the reasons why the German economy is performing a bit worse than expected.
Just this morning, Germany recorded 0.3% growth for the first quarter of 2026, slightly ahead of the expected 0.2%, with 0.5% forecast for the full year. But as Handelsblatt notes, before the war started, some expectations had been closer to 1% or even higher.
Experts fear that some of the energy cost impacts, for example, are yet to be fully felt.
And the other significant source of, erm, uncertainty is Trump-linked, too – and that’s obviously the continued threat of US tariffs, which affected the automotive industry in particular.
“Wars, geopolitical tensions, trade barriers, tighter regulation, and intense competition are creating headwinds,” Volkswagen’s CEO Oliver Blume explained this morning, AFP reported.
But there is also another part of the equation, with growing focus on Merz government’s track record, as he continues to face criticism over slow pace of domestic reforms.
Germany’s finance minister Lars Klingbeil wrote about the government’s plans in the Guardian last week.
But as the government comes up to its first anniversary in office next week, expect lots of commentary on and scrutiny of what has been actually done.
If you want to catch up with what caused the latest spat between Germany and the US, here’s the video of Merz’s controversial comments from earlier this week.
Which reminds me that he also said the Americans “clearly have no exit strategy.”
Ouch.
Ukraine will ‘clarify’ what Putin’s ‘ceasefire’ proposal is about, Zelenskyy says
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has responded to Trump’s comments after his phone call with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
In a post on social media, he said he instructed his team to contact Trump’s aides to “clarify the details of Russia’s proposal for a short-term ceasefire.”
“Ukraine seeks peace and is doing the necessary diplomatic work to bring this war to a real end. We will clarify what exactly this is about – a few hours of security for a parade in Moscow, or something more.”
This, obviously, is a swipe at Moscow’s decision to hold Victory Day parade next week with no military hardware because of fears of a long-range attack by Ukrainian drones.
Zelenskyy continued:
“Our proposal is a long-term ceasefire, reliable and guaranteed security for people, and a lasting peace. Ukraine is ready to work toward this in any dignified and effective format.”
Morning opening: What were you saying, Mr Merz?
Jakub Krupa
US president Donald Trump threatened to reduce the number of troops deployed in Germany last night, after chancellor Friedrich Merz said this week that the US was being “humilitated” by Iran.
Trump said the US was “studying and reviewing the possible reduction of troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time.”
Earlier yesterday, he posted a separate criticism of Merz’s Germany, saying:
“The Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about! If Iran had a Nuclear Weapon, the whole World would be held hostage. I am doing something with Iran, right now, that other Nations, or Presidents, should have done long ago. No wonder Germany is doing so poorly, both Economically, and otherwise! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
His comments come just hours after Trump’s phone call with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and – which is likely to be of significance – after Merz repeatedly criticised Trump’s decision to start the Iran war and partially blamed it for Germany’s worse than expected economic results.
At a recent meeting with high school students, Merz said that the US was “being humiliated” by Iran’s leadership through taking part in negotiations that come to nothing, and that the war “is costing us a lot of money … and a lot of economic strength.”
“This war against Iran has a direct impact on our economic performance, and for that reason it must be brought to an end as soon as possible,” he said.
Ouch.
He still insisted that his relationship with Trump was good though, but not sure that’s the case any more.
Let’s see if we are going to hear a reaction from Germany today.
Elsewhere, I will look out for comments on Trump’s phone call with Putin – including his suggestions that Ukraine is “defeated” and that Putin was working on some sort of temporary ceasefire.
It’s Thursday, 30 April 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.