Donald Trump stated he will declare the Strait of Hormuz a territory of the United States.
Posted by The Gerry Callahan Show, Checked
- Sources
- 6 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 95%
The Gerry Callahan ShowAug 17, 2026
Trump did say on August 14, 2026, during a speech on Long Island/Garden City, New York, that "pretty soon I'll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States," as multiple tier1 outlets quoted him.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… Here he is speaking over the weekend in New York. I believe, I think, I don't think he read the room here, talking about what his next step is in Iran. Check this out. "Finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated. Pretty soon, I'll be declaring the Hormone Straight a territory of the United States." Essentially, that's what it, we have the blockade. How do you think that's, uh, that's an applause line? You think declaring that straight of her moves a Us. Territory is a good thing? Sounds to me like an escalation. …
The Gerry Callahan Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. Reuters reports that Trump said on Friday, August 14, 2026, that he would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territory.[1]
Supports. The Hill and NBC News quote Trump directly saying "Pretty soon, I will be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States" at the Long Island event.[3][4]
Supports. AP, USA Today and Free Press quote the same remark from the August 14 speech, with Trump adding "After we finish defeating Iran." The claim omits this conditional, which is a dropped qualifier rather than a contradiction.[2][5][6]
Context. The Daily Star, citing the Wall Street Journal, reports that an unnamed White House official later said Trump was joking; Iran's deputy foreign minister rejected the remark. This does not negate that he made the statement.[7][8]
Context. Trump did not explain how the U.S. would gain jurisdiction over the strait, and it was unclear whether the remark marked a new policy position, per The Hill and Free Press.[3][5]
Sources
8 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 tier 1, 1 tier 2, 4 not rated
- 1Trump says he will soon declare Strait of Hormuz a US territoryreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2The Latest: Trump calls concerns about conditions on USS Lincoln ‘fake’apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3Trump says he will declare Strait of Hormuz a US territorythehill.com · tier 1 · cited for: supports, context
- 4Trump says he will declare Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territory ...nbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 5Trump says he will declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territoryfreep.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 6Trump says he will soon declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territoryusatoday.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7Trump says he'll declare Hormuz US territory - Dhakathedailystar.net · not rated · cited for: context
- 8Trump says he will make Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territoryupi.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post