Trump is just so humiliating

It’s like compound interest.

John Stoehr

21 Mar 2026 — 4 min read

In the span of a week, the commander-in-chief of the planet’s mightiest military has shown stunning levels of weakness. It’s a weakness that’s like compound interest. I have no doubt the Iranians and the rest of the world have been equally stunned.

First, Donald Trump said “hopefully” other nations would send their warships to the Strait of Hormuz to ease pressure on oil markets after Iran closed the narrow gap in the Persian Gulf.

Then he threatened allies in Europe. “It will be very bad for the future of NATO” if they don’t help. After the Europeans told him to clean up his own mess, Trump said he doesn’t need help anyway. America can do whatever it wants, whenever it wants.

By Friday, when it was clear that little Iran has the big and tough war president over a barrel, and when it was clear that the longer he’s over that barrel, the more the American middle class is going to burn up, Trump was accusing the allies of being “cowards.”

So to recap the last week:

Help me!
I don't need help! I am all-powerful!
You cowards!

Weakest of all is the fact that Trump is clearly losing his war of choice, but keeps asking like he’s winning it. Two weeks ago, he said, “I think the war is very complete, pretty much.” Yesterday, he said, "I think we've won." Meanwhile, Iran has forced him to lift sanctions on Iranian crude in order to increase the oil supply that Iran has throttled by winning Trump’s war of choice against it.

It’s just so humiliating. Last night, Iran hit a British base with a missile from 2,500 miles away. Its strikes are going to “increase significantly,” according to Israeli intelligence. Japan and others are making side deals with Iran to get their tanks through the strait. Yet Trump is talking about the war “winding down.”

It’s just so humiliating – and dangerous.

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