Fox host Tomi Lahren with a chyron mocking concerns over Europe's jet fuel crisis

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Fox uses reported jet fuel crisis to goad Europe into joining Trump’s Iran war

“If Europe wants jet fuel, maybe it should get involved”

Written by Zachary Pleat

Published

Following an April 16 interview with The Associated Press in which International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol warned that Europe has “maybe six weeks or so” of jet fuel supplies remaining resulting from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Fox has used that warning as a cudgel to prod European allies to join President Donald Trump’s unauthorized Iran war. Both European and American airlines have already been heavily affected, with tens of thousands of flights having been canceled and many airlines increasing airfares and fees — or even, as in the case of Spirit Airlines, facing bankruptcy and seeking a government bailout. 

Some Fox personalities have argued that Trump is being “savvy” or “wise” in using his continued failure to force the Strait of Hormuz open to call for European aid he has erratically both demanded and refused in recent weeks. Some Fox figures were even more blunt in their demands that Europe engage in Trump’s costly military misadventure.

  • Fox demands Europe get involved in Trump’s Iran war if it wants jet fuel

    • Fox Business host Brian Brenberg: “I think that Europe and NATO got to get their rear ends in gear and get to the strait,” because of the reported jet fuel shortage. He added: “So, Europe has sat there and said, you know, war of choice, not our thing, you know, whatever. Your jet fuel is on the line, so you better get your little committees together and figure it out, and send some of your stuff to the Strait of Hormuz, because the U.S. has done the hard work. But the truth is, you depend on that stuff more than we do, and it's your job to secure it.” [Fox Business, The Big Money Show, 4/16/26]
    • Fox host Greg Gutfeld: “Europe will run out of airline fuel in six weeks, which is approximately seven weeks after they ran out of courage.” [Fox News, The Five, 4/16/26]
    • Fox host Tomi Lahren criticized Europe: “Maybe they should find the stones, then, to help out if they’re that worried about their jet fuel.” Lahren continued to mock concerns about the affordability of air travel to and in Europe, concluding: “The smallest violins are playing right now for these morons.” Fox contributor Guy Benson also said: “It's interesting to see the blame game in Europe, because a lot of them are being exceptionally unhelpful, and then they’re actually really reliant on this region and they don't really want to do anything. And they want to blame the United States rather than the terror regime involved here, and don’t want to lift a finger to help us in some cases.” [Fox News, The Big Weekend Show, 4/18/26]
    • Lahren: Europeans are “really worried about their jet fuel. They’re worried about the European vacations. … Perhaps they’re getting closer to stepping in” on the Iran war. Lahren added: “President Trump not happy with the allies here. The other day, I think there was maybe an offer to help when they that heard the strait was open. They wanted to rush in, I guess. Now the strait is closed again, so I'm not sure what that does to NATO and some of these countries and how much they're going to actually assist in this endeavor.” [Fox News, The Big Weekend Show, 4/19/26]
    • Brenberg: “I actually think eventually our EU — terrible allies — will help, because they’re running out of things they need, like jet fuel.” He continued: “And at some point they’re going to want to fly around again, and they’re going to help us out.” [Fox Business, The Big Money Show, 4/21/26]
    • Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt on European jet fuel shortage: “They didn't care about us. Should we care about them running out of jet fuel?” Co-host Lawrence Jones added: “It's their own fault. If they would have got involved, the European — and they would have had a united front with the United States — then we could have opened up the strait a lot sooner. But now, as they told the president, they said they want to get involved after the conflict was over. And now they're suffering the consequences.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 4/23/26]
    • Fox Business contributor Lou Basenese: Trump extending the Iran ceasefire is “really savvy on his part because he’s now putting the onus on the European allies of ours — quoted ‘allies’ — to actually step in and do something.” Basenese said: “Everyone knows it can't last that much longer. If you go another two weeks, Iran is completely out of revenue. There’s no way. Europe’s going to run out of jet fuel. It brings a world to a screeching halt.” [Fox Business, Varney & Co., 4/23/26]
    • Fox Business’ The Bottom Line co-host Dagen McDowell: “If Europe wants jet fuel, maybe it should get involved” in the Iran war, including “the U.K.” Brenberg responded to McDowell, “Thank you.” [Fox Business, The Bottom Line, 4/23/26]
    • Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade: “We're not getting much help from other countries, but all other countries are more affected than us, including China, including Europe. They’ll have about another week of jet fuel to go.” Jones again lambasted foreign countries, saying: “Well, they had the option to get involved and support the United States' mission to bring world peace to the country and to the world, but they're on the sidelines right now. Maybe they could put some pressure on Iran, since they fund them, to do a deal.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 4/24/26]
    • Citing “a potential shortage, a depletion of their supplies of jet fuel,” Fox Business regular John Lonski said: “So perhaps European countries will join the United States in pressuring Iran to finally negotiate and get rid of their potential to create nuclear weapons.” Lonski said: “One thing not to be overlooked is that this blockade has been more damaging to the economies of Western Europe, much more damaging than to the United States. My goodness, the other day the price of gasoline in some of the Scandinavian countries is hitting $10 a gallon. That’s incredible.” Anchor Maria Bartiromo agreed: “Yeah, especially since our NATO allies depend on the strait a lot more than America does, that's for sure.” [Fox Business, Mornings with Maria, 4/24/26]
    • Republican strategist Chris Johnson on Fox Business: NATO needs to get involved in the Iran war because “they’re talking about shortages … potentially rationing things like jet fuel. And so, that is not a challenge for us because we can produce a lot of our energy and manufacturing needs here at home.” He continued: “Our allies in Europe are heavily dependent on China and other supply chains around the world. We are energy dominant, and they are energy dependent.” [Fox Business, Mornings with Maria, 4/24/26]
    • Basenese: “This is one of those things where the leverage increases and intensifies over time more for Iran, and then Europe, too. So the president is being very wise here.” He continued: “Europe is struggling with jet fuel price surges, right. Cutting flights — 20,000 flights from Lufthansa for over the summer period. Europe’s got to step in here and be part of the peace process. Otherwise, they’re going to economically hamstring themselves.” [Fox Business, The Big Money Show, 4/24/26]
    • McDowell: “In terms of NATO, maybe some of them will step up when they run out of jet fuel.” McDowell added that the U.S.’s NATO allies are “about to get in big trouble.” She said, “Reuters is reporting that an internal Pentagon email outlining consequences for some of these do-nothing nations includes suspending Spain from the alliance altogether” for not joining Trump’s war on Iran. [Fox Business, The Bottom Line, 4/24/26]