West Palm Beach, May 4 -- President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the US will significantly reduce its troop presence in Germany, escalating a dispute with Chancellor Friedrich Merz as he seeks to scale back America's commitment to European security. The Pentagon on Friday had initially announced it would pull some 5,000 troops out of Germany, but when asked Saturday about the reason for the move, Trump didn't offer an explanation and said an even bigger reduction was coming. "We're going to cut way down. And we're cutting a lot further than 5,000," Trump told reporters in Florida.Earlier on Saturday, Germany's defence minister appeared to take in stride the news that 5,000 US troops would be leaving his country. Boris Pistorius said the drawdown, which Trump has threatened for years, was expected, and he said European nations needed to take on more responsibility for their own defence. But he also emphasised that security cooperation benefited both sides of the trans-Atlantic partnership."The presence of American soldiers in Europe, and especially in Germany, is in our interest and in the interest of the US," Pistorius told the German news agency dpa. The plan faces bipartisan resistanceThe planned withdrawal faced bipartisan resistance in Washington, with swift criticism from Democrats and concern from Republicans that it would send the "wrong signal" to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose full-scale invasion of Ukraine recently entered its fifth year. Trump's decision comes as he seethes at European allies over their unwillingness to join his campaign with Israel against Iran. He has lashed out at leaders like Merz, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.Merz last week criticised the war in Iran, saying the US is being "humiliated" by the Iranian leadership and calling out Washington's lack of strategy.In another sign of friction, Trump accused the European Union of not complying with its US trade deal and announced plans to increase tariffs next week on cars and trucks produced in the bloc to 25 per cent, a move that would be particularly damaging to Germany, a major automobile manufacturer.At least one EU lawmaker called the tariff hike "unacceptable" and accused Trump of breaking yet another US commitment on trade. US increased troops after Russian invasion of UkraineA pullout of 5,000 soldiers from Germany would amount to about one-seventh of the 36,000 American service members stationed in the country. The Pentagon offered few details about which troops or operations would be affected. The Pentagon on Saturday did not immediately respond to a message seeking details on the further reductions. The withdrawal of the 5,000 troops is scheduled to take place over the next six to 12 months, according to the Pentagon. Trump previously said he would pull 9,500 troops from Germany during his first term, but he didn't start the process and Democratic President Joe Biden formally stopped the planned withdrawal soon after taking office in 2021. More broadly, around 80,000-100,000 US personnel are usually stationed in Europe - depending on operations, exercises and troop rotations. The US increased its European deployment after Russia launched its full-scale war on Ukraine in February 2022. NATO allies like Germany have expected for over a year that these troops would be the first to leave. Pistorius, in his comments to dpa, said, "We Europeans must take on more responsibility for our security," while stressing recent efforts by Germany to boost its armed forces, accelerate procurement and develop infrastructure....