Donald Trump has lost touch with reality as Strait of Hormuz threats escalate
US President Donald Trump has completely lost touch with reality if he believes that a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is going to drag more countries into the war with Iran.
As Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s refusal to support the blockade shows, there is little to no appetite across Europe to further escalate the conflict in the Middle East.
This war was ill-conceived by Trump from the start. Previous US presidents weighed up the evidence, considered all the different scenarios and tried to build a consensus with allies before launching into conflicts. Trump has done nothing of the sort. Instead his administration joined hands with Israel and ploughed ahead with little consideration of the fallout from it.
There is a reason why the majority of countries are looking to a diplomatic solution to get the Strait of Hormuz. Escalation will only mean that the impasse is entrenched and the global economy, including that of the US, suffers.
The breakdown of peace talks at the weekend does not mean that the most powerful leader on the planet should lash out like a petulant child. But it’s no surprise given all that the world has seen from Trump. However, the people around the President ought to take stock of the damage that this does to the US’s standing with other nations. There is a reason why no European nation has been willing to line up behind Trump in his war with Iran.
Iran is not completely blameless either. Iran’s belligerence over its nuclear programme was the central reason for the collapse of the talks at the weekend.
Yesterday, Trump shared an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus Christ after lashing out at the Pope. That sums up why so few allies are willing to line up with the US against Iran.