Trump mulls pulling troops out of Europe. Oh well, never mind

US president Donald Trump is mulling pulling troops out of Europe. Which is really sad, we’re sure everyone will miss being a military colony of a fading, erratic imperial power which can’t even open a tiny little Strait of Hormuz. Reuters reported on 10 April that Trump was really very upset that few states has really backed wild designs on Iran.

The outlet said:

The internal deliberations come after Trump expressed his discontent with what he sees as NATO allies’ lack of action to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the failure of his plans to acquire Greenland from NATO member ‌Denmark.

How sad.

Reuters said there were nearly 70 thousand US troops permanently stationed in Europe across 31 bases. This does not include troops on shorter rotational deployments. Reuters also estimated that Germany, Italy and the UK had the highest number of troops.

The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation estimated in 2021 that there are:

100 U.S.-owned nuclear weapons stored in five NATO member states across six bases: Kleine Brogel in Belgium, Büchel Air Base in Germany, Aviano and Ghedi Air Bases in Italy, Volkel Air Base in the Netherlands, and Incirlik in Turkey.

The report came hours after socialist academic Jason Hickel captured something of the current anti-American zeitgeist with this post:

For people in Europe, one of the most important objectives for political mobilisation now is to remove the US military bases. They are a menace to humanity, they are a threat to popular sovereignty, and every one of them must be closed.

— Jason Hickel (@jasonhickel) April 10, 2026

Yanks out

The illegal US-Israeli war against Iran has provoked deep discontent with US basing arrangements (i.e., military colonialism) in the UK.

YouGov found on 5 March that Keir Starmer’s decision to allow the US to bomb Iran via British bases:

flies in the face of UK public opinion – our survey in late February had found 58% opposed to allowing the US to launch strikes from RAF bases, and subsequent poll on 2 March, and again on 11-12 March, and found that figure still stood at 49-50% when the ‘missile sites only’ caveat was included.

But even before the war began on 28 February new political parties were arguing for the removal of US forces. Green Party leader Zack Polanski said the UK’s security should not be subject to Trump’s erratic moods on 20 January 2026:

I think it’s pretty worrying that we’ve allowed ourselves to become so reliant on American interests, and that a lot of this depends on if Donald Trump is in a good mood or not.

He called for a full review into US military presence on UK soil:

We should be reviewing US bases on UK soil, and actually looking at a genuine strategic defence review.

And on 4 March, after the war began, Your Party leader Jeremy Corbyn tabled a bill in parliament for oversight of US bases.

Your Party MP Zarah Sultana preferred the Spanish approach – a complete block on US use of any airbases:

CC: @Keir_Starmer

Look, it is possible to not be Donald Trump’s poodle. https://t.co/cC3L1vtqN4

— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) March 2, 2026

Trump’s NATO meltdown

NATO general-secretary Mark Rutte visited the White House on 9 April in a bid to:

defuse a crisis after Trump said he was considering withdrawing from the 32-member transatlantic alliance, arguing that European allies have relied on U.S. security guarantees while providing inadequate support for the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran.

Unnamed diplomats told reporters Rutte has conveyed Trump’s wishes to other NATO countries. One said:

We note the frustration in Washington, but they did not consult allies either before or after starting this war.

NATO as such would not play a role in the war against Iran, but allies want to be helpful in seeking longer-term solutions for Hormuz. With negotiations ongoing with Iran, this could be helpful.

Trump said on 28 March:

I think that NATO made a terrible mistake when they wouldn’t send a small amount of military armament, when they wouldn’t… just even acknowledge what we were doing for the world… taking on Iran.

NATO was not obliged to do so:

It’s true NATO countries didn’t provide their full support for the US and Israel’s unprovoked war on Iran. The illegality of the action meant NATO countries had no obligation to support the US, and yet many supported Trump anyway by allowing him to use their bases (the UK included).

Trump pulling the US out of Europe — and even NATO — maybe be a fearful thing if you belong to the European elites. For others it would mean sovereignty and independence wrested back from the hands of a declining empire, led by a jaded emperor who looks more detached from realities of global politics by the day. And public opinion may be shifting against US domination in Europe.

Featured image via the Canary