As a U.S. aircrew went down over hostile territory and rescue teams raced against time, Donald Trump was glued to his phone — firing off posts about oil, political grudges, and imaginary windfalls.
The contrast couldn’t be more jarring.
News broke that an American F-15E fighter jet had been shot down over Iran, marking a dangerous escalation in a war already spiraling into its fifth week. A high-risk search and rescue mission kicked into gear almost immediately. One crew member was recovered. The other? Still missing, with U.S. forces scouring the area near Qeshm Island.
Trump didn’t mention it.
Instead, he launched into a bizarre posting spree that read less like wartime leadership and more like a late-night rant.
“With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE. IT WOULD BE A ‘GUSHER’ FOR THE WORLD???” he wrote.
That wasn’t a one-off. Hours later, with the situation unresolved, he added: “KEEP THE OIL, ANYONE?”
While American personnel were potentially in enemy hands — with Iranian authorities reportedly offering rewards for their capture — the commander in chief stayed publicly silent on the rescue effort.
Instead, he pivoted into partisan attacks.
In another post, Trump went after Democrats and hyped a sweeping anti-fraud crackdown led by Vice President JD Vance.
“His focus will be ‘EVERYWHERE,’ but primarily in those Blue States where CROOKED DEMOCRAT POLITICIANS… have had a ‘free for all’ in the unprecedented theft of Taxpayer Money,” he wrote.
All of this unfolded as global tension centered on the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway responsible for roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply. Markets were already rattling. Prices were climbing. The stakes couldn’t be higher.
Trump’s answer? Talk about seizing oil.
That messaging also directly clashes with what he said just days earlier, when he tried to push responsibility onto other nations.
“They must cherish it. They must grab it and cherish it. They can do it easily,” Trump said, urging others to handle the crisis.
Now he’s talking about taking the oil outright — a whiplash shift that underscores just how erratic the public messaging has become.
Even more awkward: this comes after Trump repeatedly claimed Iran’s military had been effectively neutralized.
“We’re over the skies with the most beautiful planes you’ve ever seen… there’s not a damn thing they can do about it,” he said previously.
Except, clearly, there is.
On the ground, the situation remained deadly serious. U.S. teams continued searching for the missing airman under the constant threat of capture. Iranian officials wasted no time mocking the situation, highlighting the gap between Trump’s rhetoric and reality.
But online, Trump stayed locked into his own narrative — one focused on oil profits, political enemies, and self-congratulation.
While a U.S. pilot remained unaccounted for in hostile territory, the president’s attention was somewhere else entirely.
