President Donald Trump declared Friday that he will soon claim the Strait of Hormuz as “U.S. territory,” making the striking statement while touting his administration’s handling of the war with Iran during a campaign rally on Long Island.
Trump traveled to Nassau County to rally support for Republicans appearing on the ballot in New York. After addressing the high cost of living and rising gas prices, the president turned his attention to Iran and what he described as his success in the ongoing conflict.
“And after we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated—pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States,” Trump told the crowd.
“Yeah, essentially, that’s what it is,” he continued.
Trump pointed to the U.S. blockade of the strategically important waterway, saying ships are unable to pass through the strait unless the United States allows them to do so.
“We have the blockade—no ships get through unless we want them to,” Trump said.
The president then shifted to Venezuela, contrasting the situation there with the conflict involving Iran.
“And how about Venezuela? Venezuela was a one-day war, and now we work great with them,” Trump said. “We’ve taken in millions and millions of barrels of oil.”
Trump told the crowd that the United States was “doing really good” across the board before reflecting on his previous efforts to strengthen the U.S. military.
The president acknowledged that he has ultimately used the military more than he would have preferred.
“You know, I built the military, and now I used it a little bit more than I wanted to, frankly, but that’s okay,” Trump said.
Trump argued that military action was necessary because Iran could not be permitted to obtain a nuclear weapon.
“We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. Do we agree?” Trump asked the crowd. “Can’t let it.”
The president then said that “most things are down” and recalled a conversation he had with members of his team before the conflict began.
Trump specifically mentioned Howard, Scott and Marco, praising the group as “fantastic.”
“I said to my guys—I said to Howard, Scott, Marco—they’re all fantastic, what a great group we have,” Trump said.
The president then recalled telling them about what he characterized as a historically successful month for his administration.
“But I said, ‘Fellas, we just had the best month ever, anyone’s ever had as president,’” Trump said.
Trump’s comments came as he sought to boost Republican candidates in New York while simultaneously highlighting his administration’s military actions involving Iran and Venezuela and asserting U.S. control over passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
