Trump Attacks Germany Again—But Would Troop Withdrawal Actually Hurt US?

President Donald Trump launched a fresh verbal attack on Germany's leader shortly after threatening to reduce the number of American troops on German soil, which a former top general warned could hurt America's own defense.Chancellor Friedrich Merz should not interfere with "those that are getting rid of the Iran Nuclear threat, thereby making the World, including Germany, a safer place," Trump said in a post to his Truth Social platform on Thursday.On Wednesday, Trump said he was looking at slicing the amount of American troops in Germany, a major NATO player, in response to Merz saying U.S. negotiators were being "humiliated" by top Iranian officials in stalled peace talks.The more-than-two months of war in the Middle East has divided NATO, most of its member countries balking at becoming directly involved in the U.S. and Israeli war effort, all the while becoming increasingly unnerved by the negative economic impact brought by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. ...Merz, downplaying transatlantic tensions on Wednesday, said his relationship with Trump was "as good as ever," separately calling for "reliable" ties between the U.S. and other members of the NATO alliance. The Trump administration has repeatedly told European countries to spend more on