In mid-March 2026, with the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut by Iran and oil prices spiking, Trump pressed U.S. allies to help reopen the waterway. They largely refused. On March 16, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said, “This is not our war; we have not started it,” and asked what Trump expected “a handful or two handfuls of European frigates” to do that the U.S. Navy could not. A European diplomat told NBC News, “He's asking us to help for a war he started.” French President Emmanuel Macron said France would “never take part in operations to open or free the Strait of Hormuz in the current context” but was prepared to play a role once the fighting stopped.
The next day, March 17, Trump declared he no longer wanted the help. “Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer 'need,' or desire, the NATO Countries' assistance — WE NEVER DID!” he wrote on Truth Social. In the Oval Office he told reporters, “We don't need any help, actually,” and said, “NATO's making a very foolish mistake.” Sen. Lindsey Graham, who spoke with Trump by phone, wrote on X that he had “never heard him so angry in my life.”
Three days later, on March 20, Trump turned on the allies again. “Without the U.S.A., NATO IS A PAPER TIGER!” he posted. “COWARDS, and we will REMEMBER!” He complained that the allies “complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but don't want to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a simple military maneuver that is the single reason for the high oil prices.” The same day, the United Kingdom said its agreement letting the U.S. use British bases covered strikes on the missile sites being used to attack ships in the strait.
The sequence, asking for help, declaring it was never needed, then branding the allies who withheld it as cowards, came in a war that the allies said they were not consulted on before it began.
Correction (October 14, 2026): This entry previously said Trump called NATO allies cowards and then, within 24 hours, reversed himself by saying “We don't need any help, actually.” The order was the reverse: Trump said he did not need allied help on March 17, three days before the March 20 “COWARDS” post. It also said Macron refused to participate entirely; NBC reports Macron ruled out taking part “in the current context” but said France would play a role once fighting stopped. It said only the UK shifted position, which our sources do not establish, and that oil had risen 48% to $108 a barrel since the war began, a figure we could not source; both have been removed. Graham's quote has been corrected to his exact words.