Trump gets a lesson in loyalty at last

DONALD Trump seems to be just discovering a life lesson the rest of us generally pick up somewhere between sharing crayons and passing our first spelling test: if you act like a playground bully, it's probably unwise to expect the entire class to come charging to your rescue the moment someone punches back.

- CHRISTOPHER BUCKTIN

Yet here we are.

The Strait of Hormuz - the narrow waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil normally flows is effectively closed after Iran responded to US-Israeli strikes with drones, missiles and naval mines. Tankers are stranded, oil prices are climbing, and markets are bracing for a global shock.

And suddenly, Trump, who told the world he didn't need us, wants help.

The US President has been urging allies to send warships to reopen the strait. When they politely declined, he reacted with the delicate diplomacy that has made him such a favourite in foreign capitals.

Mocking foreign leaders, he sneered that they say, "We would rather not get involved, sir."