Donald Trump sparked reactions after joking about renaming one of the world’s most important shipping routes during a speech at an event in Miami.
While speaking about tensions in the Middle East and global oil shipping routes, Trump appeared to slip up while referring to the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow but extremely important waterway through which a large portion of the world’s oil supply passes.
During the speech, he said:
“They have to open up the Strait of Trump… I mean Hormuz!”
After the crowd reacted, Trump addressed the slip and joked about it, saying:
“Excuse me, I’m so sorry, such a terrible mistake. Fake news will say, ‘He accidentally said…’, no, there’s no accidents with me!”
The comment appeared to be made humorously, but it quickly spread online, with many people debating whether it was just a joke or something he might actually consider.
This wouldn’t be the first time Trump has proposed changing a geographic name. Earlier, he suggested renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America,” though that name change would only apply within the United States.
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the most strategically important waterways in the world, located between Iran and Oman, and is a critical route for global oil shipments. Any disruption there can affect oil prices and international trade.
Whether the comment was purely a joke or not, it quickly became another widely discussed moment from the speech.
