US President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested that the Strait of Hormuz should be renamed “Trump Strait” amid ongoing tensions with Iran, but later indicated that he was not serious about the idea.
Trump, who has proposed changing the names of several geographical locations during his second term, made the remark on his Truth Social platform while claiming the United States had full control of the strategic waterway.
“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!” Trump wrote.
The White House later shared a map of the Strait of Hormuz on social media with the proposed new name, saying, “It’s got a nice ring to it.”
In recent weeks, Trump has repeatedly spoken about asserting US sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. He even shared a map describing the waterway as a “new US territory.”
However, speaking later in the Oval Office, Trump downplayed the proposal when asked by an AFP reporter whether he truly intended to rename the strait.
“It was just thrown out there,” Trump said with a laugh.
Despite his comments, some of Trump’s previous ideas that were initially dismissed as jokes have later become official policy.
Last week, he signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as “Lake America” during an ongoing trade dispute with Canada, days after first mentioning the idea in what many believed was a joke.
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