On Wednesday night, April 29, 2026, President Trump reshared on Truth Social an AI-generated map showing the shipping channel between Iran and Oman labeled the 'Strait of Trump' instead of the Strait of Hormuz. The post comes amid an active U.S. naval blockade of the strait — the same blockade Trump described as 'sealed up tight' the same week Putin's 142-meter superyacht Nord transited it openly. Brent crude topped $125 a barrel on Thursday; the U.S. average gas price hit $4.30 a gallon Wednesday per AAA. The Strait of Hormuz typically carries over 20 million barrels of oil — roughly 25% of all maritime oil trade — but has been largely closed since the war began.
Trump did not formally announce a renaming. The repost is part of a documented pattern of slow-rolling rhetorical claims to a body of water that geographic, diplomatic, and historical convention have called the Strait of Hormuz for centuries. In March, Trump told reporters: 'They have to open up the Strait of Trump. I mean, Hormuz. Excuse me, I'm so sorry. Such a terrible mistake.' He then immediately added: 'Fake News will say “he accidentally said.” No. There's no accidents with me, not too many.' On April 17, in a Truth Social meltdown demanding praise for ending a war he started, he wrote 'STRAIT OF IRAN' in all caps.
The AI-map repost is the most concrete iteration: an actual visual artifact, branded with his name on the most contested shipping lane in the world, posted to his official social-media presence. Polymarket opened a betting market on whether Trump will formally rename the strait by May 31, 2026. California Gov. Gavin Newsom mocked the post on X: 'Crude oil is now at $120/barrel and climbing. Americans are paying higher and higher prices. Why won't President Trump open the Strait of Trump!?'
The Independent's broader catalog of the renaming/branding spree currently in motion: Penn Station and Dulles International Airport (Trump floated congressional renamings in January); Palm Beach International Airport (a Florida bill to rename it after Trump for $5.5M passed this month); the U.S. passport (limited 250th-anniversary edition with Trump's portrait and gold signature); the National Park pass (already redesigned to feature Trump alongside Washington — triggered a lawsuit and a sticker-over-his-face protest movement); the proposed Trump signature on U.S. paper currency for the 250th — the first sitting president's name on American currency in 165 years; the renamed Department of War; the renamed Trump Institute of Peace (a federal judge ruled the takeover illegal); the renamed Kennedy Center; Trump-class battleships ($14-21 billion each per CBO); TrumpRx; Trump Accounts; the planned $400M White House ballroom.
Update (September 28, 2026): he has kept at it. On September 2 he posted, “Now that we have it under U.S.A. control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT???” and, asked whether he meant it, said “it was just thrown out there,” CNBC reported; the White House's X account followed with an altered map captioned “It's got a nice ring to it.” Early on September 26, before he rejected Iran's latest proposal to reopen the waterway, he posted a map labeling it “Trump Strait.” The Associated Press: “It is not the first time he has tried to antagonize Iran in this way.” See Trump Rejects Iran's Offer to Reopen Hormuz in Seven Days, and the WSJ Reports He Expects the Bombing to Resume After the Midterms.