A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
President Trump continues to plead with allies to join his coalition to help protect oil ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz, even as he also says the U.S. does not need their help. Trump made his most forceful push yet on Monday in a press conference that veered from the war to the architecture of the Kennedy Center to a terminal diagnosis for a Florida congressman. NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez is here. Franco, so he doesn't need the help that he was asking for?
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Yeah, A, I mean, like a lot of things with Trump, there are some mixed messages given. You know, he's listed seven countries that he's demanding send warships to help escort oil vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. And yesterday, he twice teased an upcoming announcement that some would be involved, but he did not give any details. But almost simultaneously, we're also hearing from leaders in Germany and the U.K. and across the West, basically saying that they want nothing to do with this war. The German defense minister said that this is not their war. And the U.K. prime minister said pressure from the U.S. is not going to change their stance and that they're not going to be drawn into a wider conflict.
MARTÍNEZ: President Trump typically does not like hearing the word no. So how did he sound when he talked about this?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, he definitely doesn't like hearing the word no. And he sounded pretty angry, I mean, especially against the U.K. He's really trying to turn up the pressure on these countries to act, you know, reminding them of the security support that the U.S. has provided Europe over the years and really emphasizing that he will remember those who do not help.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Because my attitude is, we don't need anybody. We're the strongest nation in the world. We have the strongest military by far in the world. We don't need them, but it's interesting. I'm almost doing it, in some cases, not because we need them, but because I want to find out how they react.
ORDOÑEZ: Now, he claimed he always believed that if the U.S. ever needed help from Europe that Europe wouldn't be there to help. And he kind of argued that this was proving his point.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, and the leaders who have rejected Trump's demands have pointed to political differences with the war. Trump, though, also made a case about security.
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. He's certainly, of course, making a geopolitical argument. You know, he also talked about U.S. backing for the war on Ukraine. And he alleged that Vladimir Putin of Russia would've gone much further if not for U.S. support. You know, that Putin is afraid of the U.S. military, but he's not afraid at all of Europe, is what he said. But, yeah, I mean, he's making the political case, but he's also repeatedly speaking about the Iranian navy and air force having very little firepower left. You know, it seems, though, that he's just trying to reassure allies that there's only a small risk if they choose to help him.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRUMP: I mean, for 40 years, we're protecting you. And you don't want to get involved in something that is very minor? Very few shots are going to be taken because they don't have many shots left. But they said, we'd rather not get involved.
MARTÍNEZ: I mean, it feels like things are building, the pressure is building on Trump. How much of that is he under to reopen the strait?
ORDOÑEZ: I mean, he's under a lot of pressure and, you know, with good reason, really. I mean, the strait accounts for passage of 20% of the world's oil supply. And reopening it is likely critical to ending this war. I mean, he's struggling, clearly, to do that on his own. And he needs this kind of help. The problem is that he hasn't been the greatest ally to the West, to those traditional allies in the West. And he hasn't really fostered these relationships, nor did he consult them, you know, leading up to these strikes, which actually surprised them a lot and put them on the defensive. Now, weeks later, he's asking for their help after the fact, which just makes it, A, a tougher ask.
MARTÍNEZ: That's White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Thanks a lot, Franco.
ORDOÑEZ: Thanks, A.
(SOUNDBITE OF RUBBA, DE WOLFE MUSIC AND JOACHIM SHERYLEE'S "WAY STAR") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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