Ministers in Germany and France shot back at US President Donald Trump for his comments claiming that the US had "never needed" its European NATO allies — despite it being the only NATO member in history to invoke the mutual defense clause Article 5 — and alleging that non-US troops in Afghanistan had "stayed a little back" from the frontlines.

Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Trump should apologize, while also implying that he was not exactly holding his breath.

"It would be a sign of decency, of respect and of insight," he said on ARD television. "But we all know how the US president operates."

Pistorius also said the inaccuracy of...