Trump, "Why pay? Will reduce US troops in Germany to 25,000"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 15th (local time) that he would reduce the number of U.S. troops stationed in Germany to 25,000. On the 16th, he also expressed his intention to sign an executive order for police reform.

President Trump told reporters before a cabinet meeting at the White House that day, "The U.S. will reduce troops until Germany pays."

He continued, "European countries are refusing to pay. If they don't pay, why should we do the work?"

Earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that President Trump had ordered a reduction of U.S. troops in Germany, which Trump himself confirmed for the first time. If the number of U.S. troops in Germany is reduced to 25,000, it will be fewer than the approximately 28,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.

Richard Grenell, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and a close aide to President Trump, said in a media interview on the 11th that Trump had already warned last year about the possibility of reducing overseas U.S. troops, including those in Germany, but it was not taken seriously. He added, "President Trump clearly said, 'We want to bring troops back from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, South Korea, Japan, and Germany,'" mentioning South Korea as well.

Regarding the incident in Atlanta, Georgia, where police fatally shot a Black man, President Trump mentioned that he plans to sign an executive order on police reform on the 16th.

Regarding the book written by former White House National Security Advisor John Bolton, President Trump openly expressed dissatisfaction, saying, "The conversations I had with him are secret." He also asked Attorney General William Barr about related measures. In response, Attorney General Barr reported, "The verification of (whether there was a leak of classified information) regarding Bolton's book has not yet been completed."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.