Trump Says Other Nations Joining US Patrols in Strait of Hormuz

Welcome back. President Trump ramping up pressure on China as he urges countries to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He's also accusing what he calls the fake news media of spreading Iranian propaganda, including some generated by AI. Joining us now live in studio is NTD's White House correspondent Iris Tao. Welcome, Iris. What's the latest with the president's remarks overnight? Sure. So good morning to you both as well. So President Trump speaking to reporters on Air Force One last night is again urging, if not demanding, China, in addition to U.S. allies like France, U.K., as well as Japan and South Korea to join the U.S. efforts in helping to secure the Strait of Hormuz, which is now effectively closed by Iran, and for it to hold a hostage and really to choke off the world's one-fifth oil supply. And President Trump also warning the NATO countries that if they don't actually help the U.S., they will face a bad future. And here's the president speaking to reporters last night, Arch. Meanwhile, oil prices have risen to its highest level since 2022, as of just yesterday. And the Trump administration is now promising Americans that prices will come down very soon, in a matter of maybe just weeks when the conflict actually winds down. And President Trump also saying that he's not worried about the political impact. And I have to do what's right. Political, I'm sure everybody is concerned. I have to do what's right. I can't say that, you know, gee, I don't want to have any impact on oil prices for three or four weeks or two months. And we're going to let Iran have a nuclear weapon and blow up the entire Middle East and beyond. The conflict will come to the end in the next few weeks, and we'll see a rebound in supplies and a pushing down of prices after that. And carry on the war itself, which is now entering its third week. President Trump telling reporters that Iran wants to negotiate, quote, badly, but he doesn't think that Iran is ready to do what they need to do, adding that the U.S. will finish the job. And in terms of that, we saw that the president, of course, having this upcoming meeting with President Xi saying he might delay. What's the president's strategy in relation to the Strait of Hormuz and specifically with China? Sure. So carry some context here. China imports about 90 percent of Iranians' oil and also has been for decades really propping up their Iranian regime, as well as in this conflict, for example, it has publicly voiced support for Iran for what China calls its sovereignty. So that's the context here. And President Trump, as we just heard, says that China really has a bigger stake in the Strait of Hormuz if the conflict continues. And China, President Trump is now urging China and using his leverage, for example, using the upcoming summit, saying that, hey, I might want to delay this summit if China doesn't get back to me about whether or not they want to help the U.S. with the effort right now to secure that important oil channel. And President Trump also saying that it's important for all countries, especially China, to look at this issue. Although this morning we heard from Secretary of Treasury Scott Besson saying that President Trump might just want to stay in D.C. just because the war in Iran is still ongoing as well. Certainly. And the president has been posting on Truth Social, one of the latest posts, criticizing and accusing some media outlets of being manipulated by Iran. Tell us about that. Sure. So President Trump overnight on Truth Social is accusing some U.S. outlets, what he calls the fake news media, really being manipulated and has been fed false information by the Iranian regime, which he says are very good at such propaganda. For example, he lists examples such as some footage that some Americans might have seen on Twitter or online of warships or American assets, including, for example, a USS Lincoln on fire in the ocean or like some attacks on buildings and ships. But Trump says that a lot of them are actually AI generated and intentionally being put out by the Iranian regime. But he's saying that some news media here in the U.S. are actually buying into that. Here's what he told reporters last night. But Iran is known for a lot of fake news and they deal with our fake news. And I actually think it's pretty criminal because our media companies who have no credibility whatsoever are putting out information that they know is false. And it's a very dangerous thing for the country. And President Trump is again voicing his support for the Federal Communications Commission or the FCC to really look at the licenses of some of the public TV broadcasters here in the U.S. Very interesting moving of the deck there. Iris, what's the president working on today? Sure. So the president has a very busy Monday, starting with his policy meetings and executive time. But also he's having a lunch with the Trump Kennedy Center board members in the East Room at around eleven forty five. He's also participating in a media interview, followed by a signing time inside the Oval Office with the vice president. And that event is open to the press. So we will hear from the president and likely Vice President J.D. Vance as well today. And in the afternoon, he's also going to meet with the U.S. ambassador to Japan. Remember, like we said in the beginning, he is calling on Japan to join in the effort to help secure the Strait of Hormuz. So a lot to watch for today as we are potentially going to be seeing some of the countries now issuing their responses to President Trump's call for them to join this effort. Looking forward to those updates. Thank you so much for coming in, Iris Taffers. Great to be here.