When Trump Refers to the Strait of Hormuz as the 'Trump Strait'

US President Donald Trump once referred to the Strait of Hormuz as the “Trump Strait” when discussing the crucial waterway for global oil supplies affected by the US and Israel war against Iran. This, as reported by AFP and CNBC on Saturday (28/3/2026), occurred while Trump was speaking at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) forum, a Saudi Arabian business conference held in Miami, Florida, US, on Friday (27/3) local time. In his statement, Trump claimed that Iran is ready to make a deal with the US, despite rejections from Tehran officials in public. He also urged Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz for a peace agreement. “We are negotiating now, and it would be great if we could do something, but they (Iran) must open it (Strait of Hormuz),” Trump said at the forum held on Friday (27/3) US time. “They must open the Trump Strait – I mean, the Strait of Hormuz,” he stated, jokingly calling the vital global oil waterway the “Trump Strait.” Trump’s comment was met with laughter from the audience at the forum. “Forgive me. I’m sorry. A very bad mistake,” Trump said, seemingly apologising before adding further remarks. “Fake news will say, ‘He said it accidentally.’ There are no accidents with me, not too many. If there were, it would be big news,” he added. This comment comes as the Strait of Hormuz becomes a main source of conflict in the war, which has entered its second month, even as the US boasts of having “destroyed” Iran’s military. Iran’s ability to effectively block the Strait of Hormuz – through which 20 million barrels of oil pass daily before the war broke out – has contributed to historic disruptions in global energy supplies and prices. On Monday (23/3), Trump raised the possibility of the Strait of Hormuz being jointly controlled by “me and the ayatollah” as part of a war resolution. However, he later said that Iran is negotiating with the US and described Tehran as “begging” to make a deal. Iran has publicly denied any direct talks with the US. The New York Post, citing several sources, reported on Friday (27/3) evening that Trump is considering taking control of the Strait of Hormuz and renaming it after himself, or calling it the “American Strait.” Trump’s latest comment on the “Trump Strait” was made after the US President had renamed several buildings in Washington DC with his own name during his second term. In a social media post last October, Trump also jokingly referred to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC using his own name. The post included photos of renovations being done on the exterior of the Kennedy Center building, with Trump praising the “new TRUMP KENNEDY pillars, oops, I mean, KENNEDY CENTER.” A few months later, in December 2025, the White House announced that the Kennedy Center Board had chosen to change the name to the “Trump-Kennedy Center.”