Trump suggests renaming Strait of Hormuz ‘Trump Strait’

(Gray News) – President Donald Trump indicated he wants his name on one of the most contested waterways in the world.

The president suggested renaming the Strait of Hormuz to “Trump Strait” in a post on Truth Social Wednesday, arguing the U.S. has effectively seized control of the passage amid its ongoing war with Iran.

“Now that we have it under U.S.A. control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT??? Like America itself, it would be ‘hotter’ than ever before! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP,” Trump wrote.

The strait separates Iran from Oman and the United Arab Emirates, and it is not a U.S. territory or possession. Roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply normally moves through the narrow passage, making it one of the most strategically important shipping lanes on the planet.

Trump has claimed for weeks that the U.S. has taken “almost total control” of the strait since the war with Iran began in late February. He suggested last month that he would soon declare it a U.S. territory outright, though he has not explained how that would work legally, since the strait sits entirely within Iranian and Omani waters.

“I couldn’t care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement. I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday, a day before floating the name change.

It’s also unclear how Trump would actually rename the strait. When he signed an executive order last month renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America,” he directed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to update the federal Geographic Names Information System. Canada rejected the change, though Google Maps and Apple Maps have already updated to reflect it.

Trump made a similar move early in his second term when he renamed the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America,” a change Mexico and other countries have refused to recognize. Unlike the Strait of Hormuz, both Lake Ontario and the Gulf of Mexico at least border the United States.

The renaming push comes as the war between the U.S. and Iran passes the six-month mark with no sign of a resolution. The U.S. launched a new round of strikes on Tehran this week, and ship traffic through the strait remains well below prewar levels despite the administration’s claims of dominance over the waterway.

Trump has said he isn’t in a hurry to bring Iran back to the negotiating table.

“They are just playing out the inevitable. When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?” he wrote Tuesday.