President Donald Trump appeared frustrated as he wrapped up a Cabinet meeting Wednesday and took questions from reporters, offering a series of remarks on foreign policy as his administration continues navigating growing tensions in the Middle East.
But one exchange near the end of the session is drawing fresh scrutiny after Trump responded to a question about Iran and the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz with a remark that initially received little reaction in the room.
Hours later, the comment began attracting attention online and eventually caught the ear of a Fox News host who appeared visibly taken aback by what the president had said.
“The Strait is going to be open to everybody. It’s international waters,” Trump stated before casually threatening to attack Oman.
“We’ll watch over it, but nobody’s going to control it. Oman will behave like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow them up,” the president disturbingly remarked.
“They understand that. They’ll be fine,” he added as if threatening to “blow up” any nation, let alone a longtime ally in the volatile Middle East was just normal chit chat.
And actually, he’s got his geography wrong. Most of Hormuz, where more than 20 percent of the world’s oil supply once flowed through daily, isn’t located in international waters.
It is an international strait, but a majority of it lies in Iranian and Omani territorial waters, according to Al Jazeera, while another part of it sits in the territorial waters of the United Arab Emirates.
Fox anchor John Roberts appeared visibly confused by Trump’s threat.
“In the middle of all that — and it really kind of went unnoticed by the reporters,” Roberts began, HuffPost reported.
“President Trump became the first American president that I know of to ever threaten to take military action against Oman, saying that they have to behave like everyone else or we’re going to blow them up. I’m not quite sure what that was all about,” an uneasy Roberts reported to his Fox audience.
He then tossed it to reporter in the field covering the Cabinet meeting who managed to sidestep Trump’s incredible warning.
“Let’s go to our senior White House correspondent, Peter Doocy, at the White House. Peter, what were your takeaways from this, other than that not-so-veiled threat against the country of Oman, with which the United States has had a traditionally peaceful relationship?” a still surprised Roberts said.
Doocy reported on other issues that came up during the Cabinet meeting, but after he finished his report, Roberts was still upset by Trump’s threats.
“Well, there’s no question there is something going on in this town. For sure,” he noted.
The State Department later doubled down on Trump’s threat against Oman.
“PRESIDENT TRUMP: The Strait is going to be open to everybody. It’s international waters. We’ll watch over it, but nobody’s going to control it. Oman will behave like everybody else or we’ll have to blow them up. They understand that,” the agency posted on its X account after Trump’s threats.
A social media frenzy erupted after Trump’s comments with some accusing him of turning the U.S. into a pariah.
“America your very much on your own. He pisses off everyone,” a Threads user proclaimed.
This poster noted, “Just blowing up another civilization. Just for fun…”
Another post may be the most telling of all. “Hes criminally insane and those that facilitate him are criminals too. The world is far more dangerous because of him and his gang.
Trump has found himself increasing isolated and floundering around for a way to end his debacle of a war on Tehran, which he launched without Congressional approval or allied support on Feb. 28 along with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu.
Within days, the Islamic Republic had shut down the vital Strait of Hormuz sparking a global energy crisis, something critics say Trump and his Defense Chief Pete Hegseth apparently and amazingly enough did not anticipate.
Americans are furious as they’ve watched the cost of a gallon of gas jump from under $3 a gallon before Trump’s war to an average of $4.42 a gallon on Thursday, May 28, according to Triple A, and even above $6 a gallon in some places.
And Trump’s poll numbers reflect financially struggling voters’ anger over his handling of the economy amid an increasing affordability crisis with just 36 percent approving compared to 63 percent disapproving, according to the latest CNN survey.
