President Trump holds a Cabinet meeting – April 10, 2025. Seated to his left and right are Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, respectively.
With the Trump administration’s lower ranks being filled out, focus is turning toward reviews of America’s current posture in the world, especially its military posture. President Trump has made it clear that America seeks to put more of the burden of defending Europe on the continent’s own countries. In Foreign Policy, John R. Deni attempts to make the case that the U.S. should remain on the ground in Europe to protect its own interests. He writes:
If the underlying logic behind the Pentagon’s posture review is to shift resources to deal with the most probable conflict with China—over Taiwan—a sensible approach would be to assess which U.S. capabilities currently based in Europe would be most useful in the Indo-Pacific theater.
These might include sea- and land-based air defense assets, such as Aegis destroyers based in Spain or Patriot air defense units in Germany. They might include anti-submarine aircraft, such as P-8 Poseidons stationed in Italy, as well as F-35 advanced fighter jets, B-1 bombers, and KC-135 refuelers in the United Kingdom. Finally, they might include strategic air lift assets such as C-130s held in Germany.
To be clear, relocating these capabilities to deter a possible future conflict in the Indo-Pacific while a massive war is still unfolding on NATO’s border is a high-risk strategy. However, the risk could be mitigated by leaving most U.S. land forces based in Europe unaffected by such a transfer, including field artillery, mechanized infantry, attack helicopters, paratroopers, and armored forces. They are less likely to be necessary in a Taiwan-centered conflict, and leaving these assets in Europe would enable the United States to deter and contain Russian aggression.
Trump’s words do not align with Deni’s supposed motivations for leaving Europe. Trump himself explained to the media recently that it was simply a losing deal for America to pay for Europeans’ defense. Watch:
.@POTUS: “This is NOT SUSTAINABLE! The United States can’t lose $1.9 trillion on trade … and also spend a lot of money on NATO in order to protect European nations. We cover them with military, then we lose money on trade — the whole thing is crazy.” pic.twitter.com/IzqvCWEFRl
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 6, 2025
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