Trump Threatens to Yank All U.S. Troops From Europe Over Greenland as NATO Summit Opens in Ankara

President Donald Trump arrived in Ankara, Turkey on Tuesday for the annual NATO summit and immediately renewed his demand that Denmark cede Greenland to the United States, warning that the U.S. could “remove all of our soldiers out of Europe” if the Continent continues to reject his push. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen responded that she expected allies to respect the sovereignty of the Danish Kingdom, saying a transfer “is not going to happen” [1]. The two-day summit at the Beştepe Presidential Compound is chaired by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, with defense spending and Ukraine military aid topping the formal agenda; European members pledged to ramp spending to five percent of GDP at last year’s summit under U.S. pressure, and leaders are now unveiling new arms contracts worth tens of billions of dollars to demonstrate they are delivering [2].

Trump’s contempt for the alliance has hardened significantly since the United States launched major combat operations against Iran in February 2026 alongside Israel. Italy, Germany, and France declined to open their air bases for U.S. strikes or send forces to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and Trump has since questioned why the U.S. spends hundreds of billions protecting allies who were not there when needed, telling reporters he wanted “loyalty” from alliance partners [3]. CNN separately reported Tuesday that Trump mused internally about cutting U.S. troops in Europe by a third to send a message to NATO, though he declined to confirm specific plans when asked by reporters [1, 3].

Why It Sucks:

America First Conservatives

• NATO allies abandoned America during the Iran war. Italy, Germany, and France refused to open their air bases for U.S. strikes on Iran and declined to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz — the precise scenarios collective defense is supposed to cover. If the alliance only functions when it is convenient for European capitals, it is not a real alliance [3].
• Europe has freeloaded on American defense for decades. The U.S. has spent hundreds of billions of dollars annually defending nations that refused for years to meet even a 2% GDP spending pledge without sustained U.S. pressure. Trump’s insistence on a 5% commitment is a long-overdue correction to a fundamentally one-sided arrangement [2].
• Greenland is a legitimate strategic national security interest. Trump argues the island is surrounded by Chinese and Russian naval activity and is essential to Arctic security — a concern that defense analysts across the political spectrum acknowledge as real, regardless of how they view the acquisition demand [1].

Bipartisan Foreign Policy Establishment

• Threatening withdrawal hands Putin an unearned diplomatic win. U.S. troop presence in Europe is the primary deterrent against Russian military expansion westward. Announcing a conditional pullout — even as a threat — rattles every front-line NATO state from Poland to Estonia and signals to Moscow that the alliance can be fractured through patience [2, 3].
• Greenland is sovereign Danish territory — it is not for sale. Denmark is a treaty ally. Threatening to abandon collective defense unless a partner surrenders territory sets a precedent that undermines the entire post-World War II rules-based international order the United States itself built and has benefited from for 80 years [1].
• NATO is delivering on its spending commitments. Alliance members are unveiling new arms deals worth tens of billions of dollars at this very summit; European defense spending has risen dramatically over the past two years under U.S. pressure. Treating concrete deliverables as insufficient suggests the goal is disruption rather than results [2, 4].

Progressive Antiwar Left

• The Iran war itself was the original mistake. The reason European allies declined to support U.S. strikes on Iran was that they did not agree with launching the war in the first place. Framing their refusal as a betrayal of NATO loyalty redefines a unilateral war of choice as a collective obligation after the fact [3].
• A 5% GDP spending mandate militarizes European welfare states. Pushing allies to spend five percent of GDP on defense — far above current levels in most member states — means cutting social programs, healthcare, and housing budgets in countries where those services carry democratic and constitutional weight. The fiscal displacement is a feature, not a side effect [2].
• Greenland demands reflect imperial acquisition logic. Trump’s assertion that Greenland “should be controlled by the United States” for strategic reasons applies the same logic used to justify colonialism throughout history. The residents of Greenland, who have consistently expressed opposition to annexation, do not appear in this framing [1].

Sources & Citations:

[1] CNBC: Trump renews Greenland threats at NATO summit, says U.S. could remove troops from Europe
[2] NPR: Trump’s NATO pressure campaign continues as summit begins
[3] Axios: “I just want loyalty” — Trump’s Iran grudge hangs over NATO summit
[4] Washington Post: NATO readies for a ‘big reveal’ on arms deals to prove its firepower to Trump