U.S President Donald Trump, at the inaugural Board of Peace meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
President Donald Trump may be about to cause a global economic crisis, warned Matt Randolph, a Forbes contributor and energy expert.
"What will happen is all of these countries around the world will all go to the Strait of Hormuz and do whatever they have to do to force those tankers through that Strait. Because if they don't, beyond three weeks is a complete, global, economic disaster," said Randolph last week..
According to Randolph, the "three-week rule" means that at the end of the third week of the Strait being closed, a complete economic shutdown will begin.
Trump announced over the weekend, “I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their territory. It’s the place from which they get their energy. And they should come, and they should help us protect it."
“Why are we maintaining the Hormuz Strait when it’s really there for China and many other countries? Why aren’t they doing it?” he asked.
As international singer-songwriter Mohit Chauhan pointed out, going country by country, most of the major nations want nothing to do with Trump's war. Only France seemed open to it. The U.K., the Netherlands and South Korea refused to make a commitment.
The Nation's Jeet Heer pointed out, "The strategy here was to tell all your allies they are stupid parasites who should f—— off and die, then create a big mess that requires allied help, then beg them for aid. Surprisingly, it did not work."
Turkey Bureau Chief of the Middle East Eye Ragip Soylu announced that Germany was out too.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius asked, "What does Trump expect a handful of European frigates to do that the powerful US Navy cannot?"
"This is not our war, and we didn't start it," Pistorius said.
"Many Countries, especially those who are affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe," Trump posted Saturday morning on Truth Social.
"We have already destroyed 100 percent of Iran's Military capability, but it's easy for them to send a drone or two, drop a mine or deliver a close range missile somewhere along, or in, this waterway, no matter how badly defeated they are," Trump's post continued. "Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a nation that has been totally decapitated."
Reporters have spent the past week asking both Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth why there was no plan for the Strait of Hormuz and for evacuating Americans in the region. While Trump did evacuate the U.S. Embassy in Israel, it wasn't until this weekend that the U.S. Embassy told Americans they should probably leave Iraq after the embassy was attacked.
Hegseth was particularly shaken when confronted by reporters asking, "How did you not plan for this?"
One woman lamented on Facebook last week that her family was stuck in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and that folks in Washington were saying one thing while those on the ground were telling them something else. An embassy staffer there said Washington was less than communicative.