After launching military strikes Iran in late February, Donald
Trump expected the United States' European allies to help him militarily.
Instead, leaders voiced their opposition to the war; Trump responded by angrily berating them and threatened to withdraw the U.S. altogether from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
But Trump's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway crucial to the flow of oil in the Middle East, is causing gas prices to soar in the U.S. and other countries.
Now, Trump is desperately calling on other countries to help — including those he has been insulting and berating.
The Trump Administration is issuing a request for allies to join an international coalition, called the 'Maritime Freedom Construct,' to help reopen the vital shipping route and end the global oil crisis.
The allies he is now begging for help are the same ones he has frequently attacked and threatened for refusing to get sucked into his war.
A month ago, Trump declared that the Strait of Hormuz was not his problem and U.S. allies would need to resolve it themselves.
Since then, oil prices have spiked to a four-year high and Trump's approval rating has hit record lows.
The
Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. State Department, led by former Sen. Marco Rubio, sent embassies a cable urging them to try to convince their governments to join the Maritime Freedom Construct coalition.
The cable read, "Your participation will strengthen our collective ability to restore freedom of navigation and protect the global economy. Collective action is essential to demonstrate unified resolve and impose meaningful costs on Iranian obstruction of transit through the Strait."
Trump is becoming increasingly isolated as some of the top U.S. allies, such as Canada, France, the U.K., and Germany, refuse to be dragged into the war in Iran or assist in blockading the Strait of Hormuz.
Last month, Trump told U.S. allies suffering an oil shortage because of the US blockade that they should 'just TAKE IT' themselves.
Trump also threatened Germany after the country's chancellor said America was being 'humiliated' by Iran.
