Jürgen Nauditt 🇩🇪🇺🇦@jurgen_nauditt
Trump – No Tomahawk Cruise Missiles for Europe.
Is Trump deliberately weakening Europe against a Russian attack?
Trump's announcement to reduce the US military contingent in Germany by more than 5,000 troops and to completely rescind the deployment of a battalion with long-range weapons – including Tomahawk cruise missiles – personally promised by Biden, is not just a dangerous U-turn. It is a strategic error of historic proportions that undermines the entire European security architecture. FT.
While Biden had explicitly positioned the presence of American long-range weapons in Germany as a response to the growing Russian threat, Trump is now signaling precisely the opposite: America is withdrawing, deterrence is being weakened, and NATO's eastern flank remains vulnerable. More than 5,000 fewer troops in Germany mean, specifically, less training capacity, less rapid response capability, and less credibility with Moscow. The Tomahawks, which Putin has so far had to take seriously, will remain in the US – or will not be deployed at all. This isn't "cost optimization," it's a gift to the Kremlin.
You can twist and turn it however you like: This policy appears to be a deliberate attempt by Trump to weaken Europe as much as possible for Russia's next move. Whether driven by isolationist indifference, a misguided "America First" logic, or an undisguised sympathy for authoritarian leaders, the result is the same: Putin receives the clear message that the US is no longer prepared to defend its European allies with full force. Germany, Poland, the Baltic states, and Ukraine are paying the price for this American self-disempowerment.
Europe is now being forced to finally assume responsibility itself—unfortunately, it's clear that most European states are neither financially nor politically capable of doing so.
