Donald Trump wants NATO allies to help clear Iranian mines and drones from the Strait of Hormuz. The problem is that he spent 14 months tariffing, mocking, and threatening every government he now expects to say yes.
Anne Applebaum has laid out the full record of damage in The Atlantic, "Hvylya" reports. The list is long. As far back as January 2020, Trump told European officials that "if Europe is under attack, we will never come to help you." In February 2025, he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he had "no right" to expect support because "you don't have any cards."
He ridiculed Canada as the "51st state" and called both past and present Canadian prime ministers "governor." He called the British "our once-great ally" after they refused to join the initial assault on Iran. When the UK discussed sending aircraft carriers to the Gulf, Trump mocked the idea on social media, writing: "We don't need people that join Wars after we've already won!"
Trump claimed allied troops in Afghanistan "stayed a little back, a little off the front lines." The remark caused outrage among military families. That war had been triggered by the only invocation of NATO's mutual defense clause - on behalf of the United States itself.
The result: Canada declared it will never participate in U.S. offensive operations. Germany said the war is not theirs. Spain refused to let the United States use its bases. The UK and France may send ships to protect their own bases in the Gulf, but neither will commit forces to offensive operations launched without their consent.
"Hvylya" reported earlier on how millions joined the third wave of No Kings protests across the United States.