Trump's Strait of Hormuz Demand Proves It's Time to Walk Away

Yesterday, President Trump demanded "about 7" countries — China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others — send warships to help police the Strait of Hormuz. Not a single one has publicly committed. France flat-out refused. Japan said no. Australia declined. China told us to stop the war. The UK is "intensively looking at options," which is diplomatic for stalling.

This moment should be a turning point, not for escalation, but for exit.

Trump Already Made the Argument for Us

Listen to what the President himself said:

1. The U.S. doesn't heavily depend on the strait for oil. His words, not mine. So why are American sailors risking their lives to keep it open?
2. Other nations should take the lead. Exactly right. China gets 90% of its oil through Hormuz. Japan and South Korea are massively dependent on Gulf energy. This is their critical infrastructure, not ours.
3. Iran's military has been "largely destroyed." If that's true — and the administration has been saying this for weeks — then the mission is functionally complete.

The President is simultaneously saying the enemy is defeated, the waterway isn't our problem, and other countries should handle it. That's not a case for continued war. That's a case for going home.

The World's Response Tells You Everything

No one is coming to help. And honestly, can you blame them? France, Japan, Australia, and others don't want to be dragged into a war they didn't start and don't support. China is telling us to end hostilities entirely. Even the UK — our closest ally — is hedging.

When you ask the entire world to back your play and the answer is silence, that's not a coalition waiting to form. That's the international community telling you you're on your own. A war without allies is a war without legitimacy.

The Real Costs Are Piling Up

• Oil is above $100 per barrel, hammering American consumers at the pump and driving inflation
• Iran is striking Gulf state infrastructure, meaning the war is creating instability, not ending it
• U.S. forces are stretched thin — we're running the largest Air Force deployment since 2003
• Iran says the strait is open to everyone except us and our allies — so our involvement is literally the reason it's closed to our shipping

Let that sink in: the strait is blocked because of our war, not in spite of it. Ending the conflict reopens it faster than any naval coalition ever could.

The Off-Ramp Is Right Here

Trump has a historic opportunity staring him in the face:

• Declare Iran's military capability sufficiently degraded — he's already saying this
• Hand Hormuz security to the countries that actually depend on it — he's already demanding this
• Bring U.S. forces home — he's already withdrawing from Iraq and Syria
• Let oil prices normalize — markets will stabilize the moment hostilities end

The logic chain is complete. The President built it himself. Iran's military is broken. The strait isn't our problem. Other countries should lead. America doesn't need Gulf oil.

So why are we still there?

The threatening language toward allies who won't join — warning NATO of a "very bad future," saying the U.S. "will remember" — isn't strength. It's a sign of isolation. When you have to threaten your friends into fighting your war, it's not their failure to show up. It's a signal that the war has run its course.

Declare victory. Secure whatever diplomatic concessions are achievable. And bring our people home. The President's own words are the best argument for doing exactly that.