US President Donald Trump on Wednesday floated the idea of renaming the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz as the “Trump Strait,” hours before downplaying the suggestion as informal amid continued clashes with Iran.
In a post on his Truth Social network, Trump claimed US control over the waterway and proposed the change. “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!” he wrote.
The White House later shared a map of the Gulf featuring the proposed name, with the caption: “It’s got a nice ring to it.”
Trump has repeatedly threatened to assert sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks, previously posting a map labeling it a “new US territory.” Later on Wednesday, however, he appeared to walk back the seriousness of the renaming idea when asked by a reporter in the Oval Office.
“It was just thrown out there,” Trump said with a chuckle.
The suggestion fits a pattern of geographical renamings during Trump’s second term. Last week he signed an order renaming Lake Ontario as “Lake America” amid a trade dispute with Canada. On his first day back in office in January 2025, he renamed the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.” Neither Canada nor Mexico has recognized the changes. Trump has also renamed other landmarks after himself, including the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.
The proposal comes as fighting with Iran intensifies more than six months after a US-Israeli assault began. US forces launched fresh strikes near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday in response to what Trump described as Iranian minelaying. Iran said one strike killed four people at a wedding, calling it a “war crime,” and responded with attacks on US bases in Jordan, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq.
Iran has effectively closed the chokepoint, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil passes. Trump said Wednesday the United States was prepared for further action. “It was a very heavy attack last night, and we’re prepared to do another one any time we want,” he told reporters, while adding that any renewed campaign would not last “too long.”
The conflict has contributed to a sharp rise in US fuel prices, with Trump’s Republican Party facing the prospect of losing at least partial control of Congress in the November midterm elections.
