Historian warns Trump is now trapped as he 'flies by the seat of his pants'

A historian argued on Tuesday that President Donald Trump appears to be "flying by the seat of his pants" in Iran, and that has created an "intractable problem" for the country.

The Iranian regime has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz to U.S. and Israeli ships in retaliation for the two countries conducting a coordinated bombing campaign in Iran since late February. The roughly 100-mile waterway accounts for 20% of global energy trade, and its closure has caused significant fluctuations in U.S. energy prices.

Trump has tried to rally U.S. allies to reopen the Strait, but none have volunteered to help, according to reports.

Dr. Heather Cox Richardson argued during a recent episode of her "Politics Chat" podcast that the issues in Iran show Trump is "meeting reality in a big way." It also revealed that no one is around to pick up after him when he makes a mistake, as there was in his first administration.

"There doesn't seem to be any real way to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without actually going in with ground troops, which the United States doesn't want," Richardson argued. "This is an incredibly unpopular war already, and if you put ... troops on the ground in the Middle East, that is just going to be anathema to the U.S."

"So, Trump's there in the White House, not really able to figure out what to do," she added. "He's not a great thinker anyway, but this is an intractable problem."