Analyst flags surprising reason US allies stopped trying to find Trump's 'hidden logic'

A foreign policy analyst flagged the surprising reason why U.S. allies seem to have stopped trying to find the "hidden logic" behind President Donald Trump's war in Iran.

Anne Applebaum, an author and staff writer for The Atlantic, argued in a new Substack essay that Trump appears to be the only world leader who doesn't understand why no other countries have helped the U.S. reopen the Strait of Hormuz after the war in Iran began in late February. The Iranian regime has effectively blockaded the Strait of Hormuz to U.S. and Israeli trade ships after the two countries began bombing Iran.

Last week, Trump called on NATO allies to help the U.S. reopen the waterway, which accounts for 20% of all global energy trade. None of the countries budged, according to reports. While Trump has bashed NATO allies for not coming to the U.S.'s aid, Applebaum argued that there is a much simpler explanation.

"The president speaks as if the United States were not the founder and leader of NATO, and NATO’s other members, as if his allies’ interests were alien to his own," Applebaum wrote. "So, no wonder they don’t want to send ships and troops to help him out: This isn’t cowardice. It’s a calculation."

"Most of them have stopped trying to find the hidden logic behind Trump’s actions, and they understand that any contribution they make will count for nothing," she added. "A few days or weeks later, Trump will not even remember that it happened."