"The response to the Trump’s trial balloon of a global coation to provide escorts was decidedly negative. ...

Trump is just beginning to understand the ramifications of trash-talking our allies for the last year. Having been dismissed and demeaned, they are in no hurry to help the US fix the crisis that Trump created."

~ Robert B. Hubbell

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #stupidity #Europe #NATO #Canada #allies
/10

roberthubbell.substack.com/p/t…

Trump in retreat.

March 16, 2026

^{Robert B. Hubbell (Today's Edition Newsletter)}

"European countries have resisted Donald Trump’s demand for help to clear the strait of Hormuz, seemingly reluctant to get dragged into the escalating US-Israeli war on Iran."

~ The Guardian

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #stupidity #Europe #NATO #Canada #allies
/11

theguardian.com/world/live/202…

"Donald Trump drew a backlash on Sunday for suggesting US efforts to protect the Strait of Hormuz were unnecessary – and that 'maybe we shouldn’t even be there at all' because his country has plenty of oil of its own."

~ Richard Luscombe

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #stupidity #Europe #NATO #Canada #allies
/12

theguardian.com/world/2026/mar…

Trump draws backlash for comment on Iran war: ‘Maybe we shouldn’t even be there’

President made contradictory comment to reporters on Air Force One after pleading with allies to help US secure strait of Hormuz

^{Richard Luscombe (The Guardian)}

"The president made the contradictory comment to reporters on Air Force One after pleading with European and Nato allies to enter the war in Iran to help the US secure the strait amid the largest oil supply disruption in history."

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #stupidity #Europe #NATO #Canada #allies
/13

UPDATE ON THE HORMUZ COALITION (Mon, March 16):

🇫🇷 France: REJECTED
🇬🇧 UK: REJECTED
🇮🇹 Italy: REJECTED
🇪🇸 Spain: REJECTED
🇯🇵 Japan: REJECTED
🇳🇴 Norway: REJECTED
🇨🇦 Canada: REJECTED
🇦🇺 Australia: REJECTED
🇩🇪 Germany: REJECTED
🇨🇳 China: NO RESPONSE
🇳🇱 Netherlands: NO RESPONSE
🇰🇷 South Korea: NO CONFIRMATION

~ News Eye

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #stupidity #Europe #NATO #Canada #allies
/14

bsky.app/profile/newseye.bsky.…

"Today, as the country enters its third week of war against Iran, President Donald J. Trump was on the golf course, illustrating the observation of journalist E.J. Dionne in the New York Times that 'from the very beginning of this war, we got a sense that there wasn’t a great deal of serious thought put into it'" (continued in /16)

~ Heather Cox Richardson

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #stupidity
/15

heathercoxrichardson.substack.…

March 15, 2026

^{Heather Cox Richardson (Letters from an American)}

(continued from /15)

"'by the president of the United States about how it might end, what our objectives were, what needed to be done to protect Americans who are in the Middle East, what might happen to oil in the Strait of Hormuz.'”

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #stupidity
/16

"According to the Daily Beast and NBC4, family members of Tech Sgt. Tyler Simmons, one of six U.S. airmen killed when a refueling aircraft crashed during operations tied to the Iran war, criticized the conflict as unnecessary and said his death could have been prevented. ...

Their comments came as President Donald Trump spent the weekend golfing…."

~ Aaron Parnas

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #stupidity
/17

aaronparnas.substack.com/p/maj…

Major Update: Family of Fallen Service Member Slams Iran War, Oil Prices Surge, Trump Turns Back to Migrant Labor Amid Farmworker Shortage

Good evening everyone.

^{Aaron Parnas (The Parnas Perspective)}

"A SUNDAY NIGHT CRASHOUT: Trump put up more than 1,600 words across multiple posts on Truth Social last night, all of them furious."

~ Jack Blanchard and Dasha Burns

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #stupidity
/18

politico.com/newsletters/playb…

"The President appears to be having some kind of a mental breakdown tonight, which is what you want from a Commander-in-Chief during war."

~ Jon Favreau

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #stupidity
/19

xcancel.com/jonfavs/status/203…

"The foolery reached new heights over the weekend as President Trump veritably begged other nations, including rival China, to rescue him from his self-own in the Strait of Hormuz. …

The headlines are almost comical:

WaPo: Trump urges world to help open Strait of Hormuz

Politico: Trump demands ‘about 7′ countries join coalition to police Iran’s Strait of Hormuz"

~ David Kurtz

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #stupidity #Europe #Canada #NATO #allies
/20

morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.…

Desperate Trump Begs for Help to Escape Iran Fiasco

INSIDE: Pete Hegseth ... Brendan Carr ... Jeanine Pirro

^{David Kurtz (Morning Memo)}

"WSJ: White House Tries to Build Coalition on Iran to Address Energy Crisis

Bloomberg: Trump Floats Xi Summit Delay If China Doesn’t Help in Hormuz

NYT: Nations Respond With Caution to Trump’s Call to Send Warships to Strait of Hormuz

While accurate, the headlines don’t quite do justice the mix of magical thinking, narcissistic indignation, and pseudo-economics Trump spent the weekend trafficking in."

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #stupidity #Europe #Canada #NATO #allies
/21

"Two brutal lessons from the Strait of Hormuz crisis:

1. No matter how powerful your navy or how big your superpower status, if geography isn’t in your favour, you’re stuck.

2. Treat your allies with respect."

~ Brown Reporter

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #stupidity #Europe #Canada #NATO #allies
/22

threads.com/@brownreporteroffi…

Brown Reporter | News (@brownreporterofficial) on Threads

Two brutal lessons from the Strait of Hormuz crisis: 1. No matter how powerful your navy or how big your superpower status, if geography isn’t in your favour, you’re stuck. 2. Treat your allies with respect.

^Threads

"Because when you’ve spent years bullying and humiliating them, pulling out of alliances, slapping tariffs, threatening to abandon NATO and then one day you desperately need them to help you open a 33km strait, don’t be surprised when nobody is in a rush to answer your call."

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #stupidity #Europe #Canada #NATO #allies
/23

“'Demand their participation'? 'Calling upon the world to take care of this problem'? Mike Waltz’s dumb boss (and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu) decided to do this dumb shit. The rest of the world does not have to be dragged because after they dove into this without consulting them, Leroy Jenkins-style."

~ Michael Mora

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #stupidity #Europe #Canada #NATO #allies
/24

wonkette.com/p/trump-idiots-de…

The 'Strait' Consequences On The Sunday Shows

We watch so you never have to!

^{Michael Mora (Wonkette)}

"Major media aren’t paying enough attention to how Israel’s Bibi Netanyahu manipulated Trump into the war. Early on, WaPo had a strong story about Netanyahu’s prodding, and the NYT has addressed the risks of the U.S.-Israel war alliance. But more must be written."

~ Mark Jacob

#Trump #Hegseth #Netanyahu #Bibi #Iran #war #stupidity #media
/25

stopthepresses.news/p/trump-ca…

Trump can’t handle the truth about the war

So far, major media’s coverage is a departure from past failures

^{Mark Jacob (Stop the Presses)}

"I have been saying since the beginning that America is playing checkers while Iran plays chess, but it’s worse than that. American leadership is utterly incoherent: We won, but we need help. We hate our allies; but will our adversaries please come bail us out?"

Jonathan V. Last

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #stupidity
/26

thebulwark.com/p/the-war-devel…

The War Development(s) That Should Truly Scare Us

How Iran could speed up de-dollarization and how Trump could put boots on the ground in Iran—sort of.

^{Jonathan V. Last (The Bulwark)}

"Meanwhile Iranian leadership survived a transition of power in the midst of war, achieved its strategic objective in closing the strait, and is now looking to leverage China’s rising economic ambitions against the United States."

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #stupidity
/27