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U.S. President Donald Trump announced late Thursday that the United States would send 5,000 troops to Poland, reversing a Pentagon decision made just days earlier to cancel a planned deployment. He attributed the move to his personal relationship with Polish President Karol Nawrocki.
"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 posted on Truth Social.
The announcement was the latest in a confusing sequence of decisions.
Three weeks ago, the Pentagon announced it was withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany, a move widely seen as punishment for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's comment that Iran had "humiliated" the United States at the negotiating table.
That decision also canceled a Biden-era plan to deploy a missile-equipped artillery unit in Europe.
Last week, the Pentagon abruptly canceled the planned deployment of more than 4,000 troops to Poland, some of whom had already arrived in the country with their equipment, saying those forces would count against the Germany drawdown. The decision caught Warsaw by surprise and triggered frantic phone calls from Polish officials and fierce criticism in the U.S. Congress from both parties.
On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke to his Polish counterpart and the Pentagon issued a statement describing the move as "a temporary delay of the deployment of U.S. forces to Poland, which is a model U.S. ally."
Vice President JD Vance also defended the decision on Wednesday, calling it "a very minor thing" and "a standard delay," adding that Europe needed to stand on its "own two feet." By Thursday evening, Trump's Truth Social post had rendered those characterizations moot.
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It remains unclear whether the 5,000 troops announced by Trump are taken from those being withdrawn from Germany, represent a separate deployment, and what their status—rotational or permanent—will be.
It is also unclear whether the military will need to cut forces elsewhere to fulfill Trump's broader goal of reducing the approximately 80,000 U.S. troops in Europe.
Pentagon officials have said any reduction would return U.S. forces in Europe to approximately their 2022 levels, before Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine began.
Hours before departing for the NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Sweden, Rubio told reporters in Miami that Trump was "very disappointed" in alliance members who had not allowed the U.S. to use bases on their territory for the Iran war.
He singled out Spain specifically. "You have countries like Spain denying us the use of these bases, well then why are you in NATO? That's a very fair question," Rubio said.
"In fairness, other countries in NATO have been very helpful. But we need to discuss that," he added.
Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO members for not backing the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran and has said he is considering withdrawing from the alliance, questioning whether Washington is bound to honor its mutual defense commitments.
NATO officials have stressed the alliance was not asked to participate in the Iran war, but that many members have honored commitments to allow U.S. forces to use their airspace and bases.
European concerns about Trump's posture toward NATO have been compounded by his push to acquire Greenland, a territory of fellow NATO member Denmark, and his suggestion that the U.S. may not be bound by Article 5 commitments.
Polish President Nawrocki immediately thanked Trump "for his friendship towards Poland, the practical dimension of which we see very clearly today."
"I stand and will continue to stand guard over the Polish-American alliance, a vital pillar of security for every Polish home and for all of Europe," Nawrocki said.
Poland's Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said the decision "confirms the Polish-American relations are very strong, and that Poland is a model and ironclad ally."
Earlier this week, Kosiniak-Kamysz had sought urgent talks with Hegseth to get clarity on the original cancellation.
Poland has approximately 10,000 U.S. troops stationed on its territory and has positioned itself as one of Washington's staunchest European allies, leading NATO defense spending charts among European members. Nawrocki, a conservative nationalist, was hosted by Trump at the White House in the final weeks of last year's presidential campaign, which he went on to win.
NATO chief Mark Rutte, on Friday, welcomed President Donald Trump's announcement that 5,000 US troops would head to Poland.
"Of course, I welcome the announcement," the secretary-general told reporters ahead of a meeting of alliance foreign ministers in Sweden, adding that NATO "military commanders are working through all the details."
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