First Thing: Trump doubles down on rift with Germany, Italy and Spain amid war on Iran

Good morning. Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw US troops from Italy and Spain a day after he saying was looking at curtailing the number deployed in Germany. The US president’s threat to Germany came after the country’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said America was being “humiliated” by Iran. Trump has severely criticised Nato allies for not sending their navies to help open the strait of Hormuz, a crucial commercial shipping corridor. At an Oval Office event on Thursday, Trump was asked if he would consider withdrawing troops from bases in Spain and Italy over their unwillingness to get involved in his war on Iran. “Yeah, probably,” the president replied. “Why shouldn’t I? Italy has not been of any help to us and Spain has been horrible, absolutely horrible.” What has Congress been saying about the war? A senior Democrat in the Senate grilled the US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, on Thursday, accusing him of failing to give Trump an accurate picture of the war on Iran while resorting to “dangerously exaggerated” statements to create an inaccurate picture of a US military triumph. Video shows moment shooter tried to storm White House dinner A still from the security camera footage of the incident at the White House dinner. Photograph: Jeanine Pirro via X Federal prosecutors released footage on Thursday of the moment officials say Cole Tomas Allen tried to storm last week’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in an alleged attempt to kill Donald Trump. …