US President Donald Trump continues to advocate the interests of his country far beyond its borders. Interestingly, Germany is currently actively promoting the Nord Stream 2, Russia’s natural gas pipeline. This fact concerns Washington which is trying to do whatever it takes to shut it off.
Earlier, the US had dealt with this issue with the help of tariffs. Nowadays, the situation with the Nord Stream 2 is out of Trump’s control. Therefore, he is planning to go to extremes - that is, to reduce the US troop presence in Germany. The American leader is at a loss. "We're supposed to protect Germany from Russia, but they are paying billions of dollars to Russia for a brand new pipeline. You tell me, is that appropriate? I think that’s very inappropriate. We're going to be reducing Germany very substantially, down to about 25,000 troops," said the 45th President of the United States.
Germany, in its turn, noticed that the US military forces do not so much protect German citizens as they guard the political interest of the United States. "US troops are not there to defend Germany. They are there to defend the transatlantic security. They are also there to project American power in Africa, in Asia," said Emily Haber, German Ambassador in the US. Today, the relations between the two countries face the risk of becoming more than tense. In the light of the coming presidential election in the US, it is possible that Trump will continue his attacks on American allies, including for promotional purposes.