President Donald Trump warned that the United States could pull its military forces out of Europe due to a lack of support from NATO allies [1].

The threat signals a potential shift in transatlantic security obligations, as the U.S. links its presence in Europe to the cooperation of allies in Middle Eastern maritime conflicts.

Speaking to reporters in Washington, D.C., Trump said that European members of the alliance have failed to assist the U.S. in the conflict over the Strait of Hormuz [1]. He specifically cited the refusal of allies to send naval assets to help secure the waterway, which he described as a lack of support for the U.S.-led effort against Iran [1], [2], [3].

"If they don’t help us in the Hormuz, we will have to reconsider our commitments," Trump said on April 1, 2024 [1].

Reports vary on which specific nations are being targeted by this warning. Some reports identify Italy, Spain, and Germany as the countries that refused to provide ships [3]. Other accounts state that Trump threatened to pull the U.S. out of NATO without naming specific member states [1].

Trump has previously criticized the alliance, describing NATO as a "paper tiger" amid the tensions in the Strait of Hormuz [2]. He said, "Stay away, you were useless" [2].

While the current threat focuses on the Strait of Hormuz, the administration has a history of adjusting troop levels. For context, a previous withdrawal in 2012 involved roughly 8,000 troops, consisting of two combat brigades [4].

The U.S. maintains that the security of the Strait of Hormuz is critical for global trade, but the refusal of European naval support has created a rift in the alliance's shared strategic goals [1], [3].

“"If they don’t help us in the Hormuz, we will have to reconsider our commitments."”

This development indicates a transactional approach to the NATO alliance, where U.S. security guarantees in Europe are conditioned on ally participation in non-European theaters. By linking the presence of troops in Europe to the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. is leveraging its military footprint to compel European naval contributions in the Middle East, potentially straining the collective defense principle of the alliance.