President Donald Trump speaks at the Future Investment Initiative Summit in Miami on March 27, 2026.
Mandel Gunn | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump on Friday referred to the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil shipping route and key chokepoint in the Iran war, as the “Trump Strait.”
In a speech at the Future Investment Initiative in Miami, the president said Iran “needs to open the Trump Strait, the Strait of Hormuz,” drawing laughter from the audience.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. It was a terrible mistake,” he said, feigning an apology, then clarified: “Fake news will say, ‘He accidentally said that.’ No, I haven’t had any accidents, and there haven’t been many. If there were, it would be big news.”
The comments came as the strait has emerged as a major source of conflict in the war, which is entering its second month, despite the US boasting that it has “annihilated” Iranian forces.
Iran has continued to effectively blockade the strait, blocking the route through which 20 million barrels of oil is normally transported per day, contributing to historic disruptions in global energy supplies and prices.
President Trump on Monday suggested that “I and the Ayatollah” could jointly control the strait as part of a resolution to the war.
President Trump later said that Iran was negotiating with the United States and was “begging” for a deal, but Tehran denied that direct talks were taking place.
The New York Post reported Friday night that President Trump is considering taking control of the strait and renaming it after himself, or calling it the “Strait of America,” as he previously tried to relabel the Gulf of Mexico.
Friday’s “Trump Strait” quip comes from a president who has famously put his name at the center of his branding as a businessman and real estate mogul.
This is also consistent with an October Truth Social post in which the president appeared to jokingly refer to Washington’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts by using his name.
The post featured a photo of renovations to the building’s exterior, with a caption praising it: “The new Trump Kennedy. Oops, the pillar of the Kennedy Center.”
In December, the White House announced that the Kennedy Center’s board of directors had voted to change its name to the Trump Kennedy Center.
