President Donald Trump is already walking back his plan to charge a 20 percent fee on ships traveling through the contested Strait of Hormuz. It comes as a U.S. blockade of the critical maritime waterway continues.
The reversal follows his embarrassing contradiction of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who bashed Iran last month after a meeting in the Middle East over Tehran’s plans to charge shipping fees.
On Monday, July 13, Trump offered to protect ships trying to navigate the strait from Iran, which has been attacking vessels amid Trump’s unapproved and expensive war on Tehran, the exact thing Rubio was railing against.
He posted on social media on Monday, July 13, that the U.S. is currently only blocking ships coming or going from Iran or carrying any cargo meant for the Islamic Republic.
He said in the post that in exchange for protecting vessels transiting the Strait, the U.S. would charge a 20 percent fee.
Since those in Trump’s top inner circle are opposed to the idea of charging ships in an international waterway like the Strait of Hormuz a toll, Trump humiliatingly reversed his plans on Tuesday, July 14.
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In another post on social media, the president said, “The Strait of Hormuz is open to ALL Ship traffic except for Iran — and that is because of their lying, violent, malicious leadership, which is taking them down the path of TOTAL DESTRUCTION.”
He continued, “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
‘Dementia Don’
Social media wasn’t buying the idea Trump just happened to change his mind.
“He probably doesn’t remember saying it yesterday. His dementia and Alzheimer’s are so bad,” a Threads user proclaimed.
Another joked, “He probably didn’t remember saying it. I mean, c’mon. It’s been a whole 24 hours. You can’t expect him to remember everything. <sarcasm>”
Others piled on, “It’s head spinning. He’s saying the exact opposite from what he said yesterday. No wonder we can’t keep up.”
This Threads user hilariously posted, “Someone call IT…the trumpbot is glitching…”
‘That’s the Law’
Trump’s reversal comes as a resurfaced video from a CBS interview with Rubio after that meeting in the United Arab Emirates last month went viral again.
Rubio said at the time it’s illegal to charge fees and tolls on ships using international waterways.
“That’s the law. It’s an international waterway. No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway,” Rubio stated. “That’s existing international law. That’s the way it is in international waterways all over the world, and that’s the way we’ll expect it’ll be here.”
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Social media exploded, criticizing the administration’s flip-flopping and Rubio’s past comments about Trump during the 2016 presidential election campaign.
“Yeah. He also said these things about Trump in 2016. He will say anything in the moment. ‘We cannot allow a con artist to get access to the nuclear codes of the United States of America.’ Trump is ‘the most vulgar person ever to aspire to the presidency.’” a Threads user pointed out.
Another agreed, “First mistake listening to a f— word that come out of Marco Rubio mouth. He can’t formulate his own thoughts. The whole administration is an incompetent band of lying thieves.”
No More Ceasefire
A memorandum of understanding between Trump and Tehran that extended a fragile ceasefire and provided for additional time to come to a permanent agreement broke down last week after the Islamic Republic again began firing on ships in the Strait.
Trump ordered new military strikes on the country and Iran retaliated by targeting ships and its neighbors.
Trump, along with Israel, launched a war on Iran on Feb. 28, causing energy prices and the cost of other consumer goods to skyrocket.
Critics say Trump had no strategy, clear objectives, or an endgame when he willy-nilly took the U.S. into a foreign conflict, something he campaigned against during his 2024 presidential campaign.
