Evidence

Multiple independent news outlets — Bloomberg, ABC News, U.S. News & World Report, Yahoo News, Kurdistan24, and PoliticalWire — reported in August 2026 that President Trump posted on Truth Social that 'The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz,' adding 'I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT!' and referring to a US naval blockade as a 'WALL OF STEEL.' These reports corroborate one another and quote the same Truth Social post, confirming Trump did make this statement amid an active US-Iran conflict over the strait (the '2026 Strait of Hormuz campaign' per Wikipedia, and ongoing US military operations described by CFR and Congress.gov). However, other analysis found in the same search, notably from Just Security, describes Iran as continuing 'to exercise de facto control over the Strait of Hormuz' and notes Iran's Foreign Minister disputing free transit, indicating the underlying substantive claim of unilateral US 'total control' is contested by some policy analysts even though the quote itself is authentic. I found no Reuters Fact Check, AFP Fact Check, Bellingcat, or EUvsDisinfo article specifically examining this quote (search tool usage was interrupted before an exhaustive check of AFP/Reuters archives could be completed).