Trump Threatens to Remove All US Troops From Europe as Greenland Fight Overshadows NATO Summit in Ankara

President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to pull every American soldier out of Europe, turning his long-running fight over Greenland into a direct warning to NATO allies just hours after arriving at the alliance's annual summit in Ankara, Turkey.

'We could remove all of our soldiers out of Europe,' Trump told reporters during a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 'Because as you probably noticed, Europe's a very different place than it was 20 years ago.'

The threat carries direct stakes for the roughly 80,000 US troops stationed across the continent and the tens of thousands of American military families living near bases in Germany, Italy, Poland, and elsewhere.

It is the sharpest turn yet in a dispute that has dogged the alliance since January, when Trump refused to rule out military force to take the self-governing Danish territory before announcing a 'framework of a future deal' alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Why Trump Says America 'Doesn't Have to Spend Any Money'

Greenland 'should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark', Trump said, adding that Europe's refusal to hand over the Arctic island is 'what hurt my relationship with NATO'.

'When they wouldn't go along with it, and with all the money we spend to help them with Russia, we don't have to spend any money,' he said, framing a full pullout as a saving for US taxpayers.

He also warned Europe to 'be careful' with immigration and energy. 'If they're not careful with those two things, you're not going to have a Europe anymore,' he said before closing the meeting to the press.

Denmark and Greenland Push Back Within Hours

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters in Ankara that Greenland is not on the summit's agenda and that Washington's ambitions are hardly a secret. 'I hope that it is equally well known everywhere that this is not going to happen,' she said.

Greenlandic Foreign Minister Múte Egede wrote on Facebook that the island's future belongs to its people. 'That's how it has always been. And that's how it always will be,' he said.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb struck a lighter note, telling CNBC 'be more Arctic, be more cool' and pointing out that seven Arctic nations already sit inside the alliance.

What a Full Pullout Would Mean for 80,000 Americans

Any attempt to empty Europe of US forces would collide with Congress. Lawmakers have legislated a floor of 76,000 troops on the continent, and both parties are moving to add further checks in this year's draft National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The Pentagon has already trimmed its footprint. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the withdrawal of 5,000 troops from Germany in May and launched a six-month review of American force posture in Europe on 18 June, telling allies 'this will be a real review'.

Hegseth has tied that review to allies' behaviour during the recent war with Iran, when several European governments denied US forces basing and overflight rights for strikes.

A Quiet Year-End Deadline Hangs Over the Fight

Behind the public clash, a trilateral working group is quietly pursuing a year-end deal regarding the future of US forces in Greenland and Denmark, with a six-month timeline determining the outcome.