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The anger of Trump seems to have intensified in the evening, after announcing a withdrawal of 5,000 soldiers, reports Süddeutsche Zeitung.

The Republican president on Saturday threatened to withdraw an even larger number of American troops stationed in Germany. “We will reduce much more and much more than 5,000,” said the White House tenant to the press from West Palm Beach, Florida, as he was about to board his plane, reports The Hill.

The reduction of American troops announced on Friday by the Pentagon is planned for “six to twelve months” and corresponds to approximately 15% of the 36,000 soldiers stationed in Germany.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius reacted on Saturday to the American decision by “seeking to minimize its impact,” according to Politico. “The withdrawal of US troops from Europe and Germany was expected,” he said. “We Europeans must take more responsibility for our security,” he argued.

Officials in the United States and Germany indicated on Saturday that a withdrawal of American soldiers “had been under consideration for months as part of a broader Pentagon review of its military personnel worldwide,” as stated by the New York Times. “But the announcement was significantly accelerated to appease a president irritated by the criticisms made by Berlin regarding American strategy in Iran.” Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday that Tehran was “humiliating” the world’s first power, provoking Trump’s anger.

In certain cities in Germany where American soldiers are stationed, “the concern is palpable among the inhabitants,” reports Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Residents wonder, “Will the American allies, whose presence often significantly supports the local economy, abandon them?”

The Guardian visited Landstuhl, a German town in Rhineland-Palatinate that hosts “the largest American military community outside the United States.” Despite Trump’s recurring bravado, Nadine Firmont, a resident of the town, said, “[The US President’s decision to withdraw troops from Germany] had the effect of a bomb in our town.” “I must say I was deeply shocked,” she told the British daily. “We love our Americans: they enrich the community at all levels and make life more colorful,” she explained. “Not everyone appreciates the noise of their military planes above our heads, but it would be a shame if they left. It would hurt us.”

If the announcements of the American president raise concerns in Europe, “influential personalities in the United States are convinced that the problem now lies largely with the Americans themselves,” according to Süddeutsche Zeitung.

On Saturday, the two Republican presidents of the parliamentary armed forces committees in the House of Representatives and the Senate, who belong to Trump’s camp, said they were “very concerned” about this decision and the “bad signal sent to Vladimir Putin.”

Even if the allies move towards defense spending of 5% of their GDP, the realization of this investment […] will take time. Prematurely reducing the American presence in Europe before these means are fully operational risks weakening deterrence,” said Mike Rogers and Roger Wicker in a statement.