maeve_the_red

His popular support is collapsing, and this is wrecking the party he controls, and ruining his legacy as President. Besides, knowing that he was being pitied by his political enemies would annoy him greatly. 

After some thought, my answer is "no." He's got himself into this situation by his own colossal arrogance - it's now clear he was warned the closure of the Strait of Hormuz would be a huge problem - and his vulnerability to emotional manipulation by leaders who seem "strong." He could escape the trap he's in if he could admit his error, but he seems incapable of that. 

So he's going to cause a worldwide recession because of his ridiculous pride. Economic contraction will continue until the demand for oil shrinks to the point it can be met without use of the strait.

The people who will suffer most are the world's poor. They don't have cars that need fuel, or travel on airlines. However, they need the fertilisers that are made from amonia synthesised in the Gulf region from the natural gas which is cheap there, and nitrogen in the atmosphere, which is free. The Haber Process allows much of the world's population to be fed, and if the supply of amonia falters, starvation will spread the next year in the Third World. Maybe other regions' plants can pick up the need, but prices will inevitably rise. 

There are two potential upsides to this, and one inescapable side-effect. 

• The move to sustainable energy will be accelerated.
• The Republican Party in the USA may be fatally damaged. 

The side effect is that the USA will become less significant. Trump was re-elected, after the electorate had seen what he was like. This could happen again, with someone equally selfish but better-organised. The US cannot be relied on to act sensibly, not even in its own interests. Recovering from this will take at least a generation, likely more.