The Matrix of Big Brain Trump

Mostly false / highly misleading in practical terms, though the US Navy does exercise significant control via blockade and presence.

Trump’s statements in the clip (responding to a question about when the Strait of Hormuz will be open): “It’s open now. It’s open now. The only one that has control of the Strait of Hormuz right now is the US Navy.”

Current status (as of ~August 10, 2026) Shipping data and reporting show the strait is not functioning as open in any normal sense:

• Daily transits are near standstill—reports indicate only ~7 vessels in a recent 24-hour period (mix of inbound/outbound, some dark/AIS-off), with tanker movements often in single digits. Pre-crisis norms were roughly 130–140 vessels per day.

• Threat assessments remain elevated/severe after dozens of incidents (including recent tanker attacks). War-risk insurance is extremely expensive, major carriers are largely avoiding it, and traffic is a tiny fraction of normal.

• A US naval blockade of Iranian ports/shipping is active. CENTCOM has redirected dozens of commercial vessels, disabled some, and boarded others to enforce it. Limited US-facilitated/escorted or monitored transits occur, but overall commercial use has collapsed.
• Iran continues to assert control/authority over passage (via its “Persian Gulf Strait Authority” claims, route demands, and conditions for reopening), has conducted attacks, and is negotiating (primarily with Oman) while tying full reopening to US concessions (sanctions relief, compensation, end to military presence/blockade, etc.). Talks have not produced a durable normal reopening.

On “US Navy has control” This is closer to accurate from a military/enforcement standpoint. The US maintains a substantial naval presence, enforces the blockade, has conducted strikes on Iranian assets, and can facilitate or interdict traffic. US statements (including from CENTCOM at various points) assert the strait remains open to lawful neutral transit and that Iran does not control it.

However, Iran retains the ability to threaten, attack, or disrupt vessels, and practical freedom of navigation for commercial shipping is severely constrained by risk—not by a simple physical closure by one side.

In short: Limited, high-risk, heavily managed/restricted movement is occurring under US naval enforcement, but the waterway is not “open now” in the ordinary commercial sense the question implied. Traffic data, insurance markets, and ongoing incidents contradict a claim of normal openness.