Trump says he's sending 5,000 more troops to Poland, stirring confusion
about US presence in Europe
[May 22, 2026]
By BEN FINLEY and MATTHEW LEE
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday said the U.S. will
send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, stirring confusion following
weeks of changing statements from Trump and his administration about
reducing — not increasing — the American military footprint in Europe.
The Trump administration has said it was reducing levels in Europe by
about 5,000 troops, and U.S. officials confirmed about 4,000 service
members were no longer deploying to Poland. Trump’s social media
announcement raises more uncertainty for European allies that have been
blindsided by the changes as the administration has complained about
NATO members not shouldering enough of the burden of their own defense
and failing to do more to support the Iran war.
“Based on the successful Election of the now President of Poland, Karol
Nawrocki, who I was proud to Endorse, and our relationship with him, I
am pleased to announce that the United States will be sending an
additional 5,000 Troops to Poland," Trump said on Truth Social.
Trump and the Pentagon have said in recent weeks that they were drawing
down at least 5,000 troops in Germany after Chancellor Friedrich Merz
said the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and
criticized what he called a lack of strategy in the war.
Trump then told reporters at the beginning of the month that the U.S.
would be "cutting a lot further than 5,000.”
As of last week, some 4,000 troops from the Army’s 2nd Armored Brigade
Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division were no longer en route to Poland. The
Associated Press reported that the canceled deployment was part of an
effort to comply with Trump's order to reduce the number of troops in
Europe. A deployment to Germany of personnel trained to fire long-range
missiles also was halted.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers alike criticized the reductions as
sending the wrong signal both to allies and Russian President Vladimir
Putin during the 4-year-old war in Ukraine.
Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska said during a congressional
hearing that he spoke with Polish officials and they were “blindsided.”
He called the decision “reprehensible” and said it was “an embarrassment
to our country what we just did to Poland.”
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Tuesday that it was “a
temporary delay” of the deployment of U.S. forces to Poland, which he
called a “model U.S. ally.” He said it was a result of the U.S. reducing
the number of brigade combat teams assigned to Europe from four to three
and indicated the Pentagon still needed to decide which troops to
station where.
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It was not clear whether that meant the brigade would resume its
deployment to Poland, if additional troops on top of that rotational
deployment could be added, or whether there would still be a drawdown of
U.S. troops in Europe but from a different country. The Pentagon
referred requests for comment to the White House, which did not
immediately respond to messages seeking clarity.
U.S. defense officials expressed confusion Friday about Trump's new
announcement. ‘’We just spent the better part of two weeks reacting to
the first announcement, We don’t know what this means either,'' said one
official. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive
military matters.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Defense Undersecretary Elbridge Colby
both spoke with their Polish counterparts this week. Polish Prime
Minister Donald Tusk had said Wednesday that he was happy to hear
“Washington’s declaration that Poland will be treated as it deserves.”
As of Tuesday, U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, commander of both American
and NATO forces in Europe, told reporters in Brussels that “it will be
5,000 troops coming out of Europe.”
Trump’s announcement came as Secretary of State Marco Rubio was on his
way to Sweden to meet with his NATO counterparts, who have been
questioning the Trump administration’s policies on reduced U.S. troop
levels in Europe.
“There seems to be no process to deliberating policies like troop
withdrawals and deployments at the top,” said Ian Kelly, a retired
career diplomat who served as U.S. ambassador to Georgia during the
Obama and first Trump administrations and now teaches international
relations at Northwestern University in Illinois.
Kelly said Rubio may have a tough time in explaining Trump’s wild swings
to Europeans who are craving certainty and consistency even if they
might disagree.
“These are not well thought out decisions,” Kelly said. “These are
impulsive decisions based on Trump’s whims or what his advisors think
are Trump’s whims.”
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Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price and Emma Burrows in London
contributed to this report.
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