US President Donald Trump on Friday referred with a wink to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil shipping route and a major choke point in the Iran war, as the “Strait of Hormuz.”While speaking at the Future Investment Initiative in Miami, Trump said, “Iran should open the Trump Strait, I mean the Strait of Hormuz,” drawing laughter from the audience.
He followed that up by saying: “Excuse me. I’m so sorry. What a huge mistake,” before adding: “The fake news will say: ‘He accidentally said: ‘No, there are no incidents with me, not very many. If there had been incidents, we would have had a big story.'”The comment comes at a time when the Strait of Hormuz, a major global oil transit route, has become central to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The waterway typically handles the movement of approximately 20 million barrels of oil per day, making it one of the world’s most important energy corridors.
Iran’s ability to disrupt or deny access across the Strait has contributed to significant fluctuations in global energy supplies and prices. The conflict is approaching its second month, despite the US claiming to have “obliterated” Iran’s military capabilities.Earlier in the week, Trump suggested that control of the Strait could be managed jointly by “the Ayatollah and I” as part of a potential solution.
He also said that Iran was negotiating with the United States and “begging” for an agreement, although authorities in Tehran denied any direct talks.Separately, a New York Post report, citing Axios, stated that Trump is studying the possibility of controlling the strait and renaming it either after him or “America’s Strait.” This idea echoes his previous attempt to rename the Gulf of Mexico.This observation is consistent with Trump’s long-standing approach to branding, where he has used his name frequently across businesses and public projects. It also mirrors an earlier Truth Social post in October, where he jokingly referenced the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts using its name.According to a White House announcement in December, the Kennedy Center’s board of directors later voted to rename the institution the Trump-Kennedy Center.
