Donald Trump is believed to be considering a sweeping redeployment of American troops across Europe to penalise NATO members deemed insufficiently supportive of Washington’s war effort against Iran. The proposal, reported by the Wall Street Journal, would shift US military assets away from countries accused of obstructing or criticising the campaign and towards those backing it, in what officials describe as a strategy to “reward” loyal allies rather than withdraw from the alliance altogether.

While Mr Trump has previously floated a full exit from NATO, such a move would require Congressional approval. The current plan instead focuses on redistributing the roughly 84,000 American troops stationed across Europe. Spain, Germany, Italy and France have emerged as primary targets for potential downgrades. Madrid has refused to commit to raising defence spending to 5% of GDP and barred US aircraft involved in strikes on Iran from its airspace.

Berlin has drawn criticism despite hosting key logistics hubs, while Rome and Paris have imposed restrictions on American use of bases on their territory.

By contrast, eastern flank states including Greece, Poland, Romania and Lithuania are in line for an expanded US presence.

Romania, in particular, is understood to have granted immediate access to its airbases following the outbreak of hostilities.

Mr Trump is believed to have raised the issue directly with Mark Rutte in what the NATO Secretary General described as a “very frank and direct” exchange.

Below, we explore seven ways Trump could punish those countries that haven’t given him their full backing.

Seven ways in which Donald Trump could punish Britain:

The most immediate lever is redeployment. Pulling US Air Force units from long-standing bases such as RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall to more supportive states like Poland or Romania would weaken Britain’s security posture and hit local economies hard.

The White House has already floated tariffs of up to 50% on uncooperative nations.

For the UK, that could mean targeted duties on aerospace, automotive and luxury exports—effectively treating a close ally as an economic rival.

Washington could downgrade intelligence-sharing arrangements, creating a tiered system that sidelines the UK.

Delays or restrictions on signals intelligence and satellite data would leave British operations exposed in volatile regions.

With the Strait of Hormuz under threat, the US is prioritising naval protection for coalition partners.

Britain could be forced to secure its own shipping routes at significant cost, facing higher insurance premiums and stretched naval resources.

Key programmes such as the F-35 and AUKUS rely heavily on US technology.

Slowing or halting licences and data transfers would stall British military modernisation.

A long-sought US–UK trade deal could be shelved indefinitely.

Mr Trump has previously signalled a transactional approach: allies that fall out of line risk economic consequences.

Washington could pivot away from London, strengthening ties with more aligned European leaders and excluding the UK from high-level planning.

Such a shift would erode Britain’s influence within NATO and beyond, recasting it as a secondary partner rather than a central ally.