Concerns are mounting in Europe that President Trump will allow Russian President Putin to divide Western alliances. (Getty Images)
The current number of U.S. troops in Europe has fluctuated between 75,000 and 105,000 since 2022, according to data from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), with the higher end of that number being a result of the surge of forces into the region ordered by Biden.
But fears persist that those numbers could fall even more rapidly than expected under Trump, despite assurances from Trump administration officials that there are no imminent plans for a large reduction of forces on the continent.
Those fears have been buoyed by recent events, including Vice President JD Vance’s remarks at a security conference in Munich in which the American leader scolded European leaders for their alleged break from shared values such as freedom of speech and Trump’s widening rift with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
However, American presidents from both parties have been warning European leaders for more than a decade of the potential shift of troops away from the continent as the U.S. seeks to focus more effort on confronting the emerging threat of China in the Indo-Pacific, leaving Europe in charge of a greater share of its own security.
Army paratroopers prepare for a blank-fire exercise in Germany on March 15, 2022. (U.S. Army photo by Markus Rauchenberger)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"I just worry that, given, frankly, President Trump’s mercurial nature … how much confidence really can Europe have in any degree of American protection and defense," Nigel Gould-Davies, a former British diplomat and senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told the Washington Post.
Michael Lee is a writer for Fox News. Prior to joining Fox News, Michael worked for the Washington Examiner, Bongino.com, and Unbiased America. He has covered politics for more than eight years.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/european-leaders-edge-prospect-looms-trump-pulling-20k-troops-from-continent