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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Conflict & Security

Trump jokes about renaming Strait of Hormuz ‘Trump Strait’

From The Punch · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • U.S. President Donald Trump suggested renaming the Strait of Hormuz “Trump Strait” while claiming the United States controlled the waterway, then said he had merely floated the idea.
  • The White House shared a map using the proposed name, while Trump’s previous renaming proposals for international landmarks have sometimes become official U.S. policy.
  • The remarks came as fighting with Iran resumed near the waterway, which carries about a fifth of the world’s oil, according to the article.

Donald Trump proposed a new name for one of the world’s most important waterways, then laughed off the idea hours later. “Now that we have it under USA control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to Trump Strait??? Like America itself, it would be ‘hotter’ than ever before!” he wrote on Truth Social.

Now that we have it under USA control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to Trump Strait??? Like America itself, it would be ‘hotter’ than ever before!

· Donald TrumpTrump proposed the name on Truth Social while claiming the United States controlled the waterway.

The White House later posted a map of the Gulf using Trump’s suggested name and added: “It’s got a nice ring to it.” Trump said the remarks were not necessarily a serious plan. Asked by an AFP reporter in the Oval Office whether he really intended to rename the strait, he replied: “It was just thrown out there.”

The joke landed as clashes with Iran continued around the waterway. Trump has repeatedly threatened to claim sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and previously shared a map labeling it a “new US territory.” The latest suggestion followed fresh U.S. strikes near the strait, which Trump said responded to new Iranian minelaying efforts.

It’s got a nice ring to it.

· The White HouseThe White House used the proposed name on a map shared on social media.

Iran said one U.S. strike killed four people at a wedding and called it a “war crime.” Tehran then launched retaliatory strikes against U.S. bases in Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq. The conflict has also pushed up fuel costs in the United States and damaged the Republican Party’s prospects in the November midterm elections, according to the report.

It was just thrown out there.

· Donald TrumpTrump later played down the suggestion when asked whether he was serious.

Trump has pursued other geographic name changes during his second term. He renamed the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” in January 2025, and last week signed an order renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America.” Mexico and Canada have not accepted those changes. The Kennedy arts center in Washington has also been renamed after him, while the Treasury issued one-dollar coins featuring Trump for the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence.

war crime

· IranIran used the phrase to describe a U.S. strike it said killed four people at a wedding.
About this summary

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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