Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative Priority Summit in Miami, Trump said the U.S. is negotiating with Iran over the strait and then floated a proposal to rename the strategic waterway.
“They have to open up the Strait of Trump – I mean, Hormuz,” he said, drawing laughter from the room. “Excuse me. I’m so sorry. Such a terrible mistake.”
He then made sure nobody thought it was a mistake. “The fake news will say, ‘He accidentally said.’ No, there’s no accidents with me, not too many.”
Trump Jokingly Calls Hormuz ‘Strait of Trump’
Trump calls it the “Strait of Trump” at a Saudi investment summit in Miami. He corrects himself, laughs it off, then says there are “no accidents with me.”
Behind the joke, reports say he’s privately floated renaming the waterway… pic.twitter.com/Bu8uUOakyp
— TWT UNLEASHED (@TWT_UNLEASHED) March 28, 2026
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This is apparently not just a joke.
The New York Post reported that Trump has been privately floating the idea of renaming the waterway the “Strait of America” if the U.S. manages to take control of it from Iran.
One senior official told the Post: “We’re going to take that strait back,” adding that if America ends up policing it, “why should we call it Hormuz?” A second official added: “He does believe that if we’re going to guard it, take care of it, police it, and ensure safe passage through it, then why should we call it that? Why don’t we call it the Strait of America?”
The strait, through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply travels daily, remains closed. Iran has disrupted shipping for nearly a month, sending gas prices above $100 a barrel and leaving global energy markets in turmoil. Thirteen Americans have died in the war. Negotiations are described as ongoing but fragile, with Iran rejecting Trump’s 15-point peace proposal and responding with its own five-point ultimatum.
The Miami speech covered a lot of other ground too. Trump declared Cuba would be “next” after Iran and Venezuela, then immediately added: “But pretend I didn’t say that. Pretend I didn’t.”
He claimed U.S. forces have destroyed 97% of Iran’s missile launchers and said “another 3,554 targets” remain, without offering any evidence. He told the room that Iran’s supposed new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was “either dead by now or in very serious condition.”
He also broke news on NATO, telling the audience the U.S. may no longer feel obligated to defend allies who refused to support the Iran operation.
“We would have always been there for them, but now, based on their actions, I guess we don’t have to be, do we?” He then turned to the room: “That sounds like a breaking story? Is that breaking news? I think we just have breaking news.”
Through all of it, the renaming question lingered. Trump has shown with the Gulf of Mexico, the Kennedy Center, and the Washington peace institute that these things are not always jokes. He floats the name, people laugh, and then one day there is an executive order.
Featured image via X screengrab
