Newsmax host: “The Strait of Hormuz is not in great shape, as the president claimed”

Rob Schmitt: “Yesterday was a disaster”

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

From the March 12, 2026, edition of Newsmax's Rob Schmitt Tonight

ROB SCHMITT (HOST): This is the nightmare scenario that a lot of people expected to happen. And this is also a reminder of why so many have not taken on Iran and kicked it down the road to this point. And also a reminder of why this operation is so very important. Terror regimes like Iran should have been destroyed decades ago. Trump is the only one willing to do it, saying, we're not going to let these animals threaten the US and the world any longer. But it ain't easy. And Trump is trying to focus on the good news. 

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SCHMITT: They don't want to knock Iran down and then they pop back up. Right? Makes sense. The CENTCOM update — more than 6,000 targets hit more than 60 warships, taken out loads of minelayers as well. That is good news.

But the Strait of Hormuz is not in great shape, as the president claimed. As we speak, oil and gas companies are working to ramp up production in other parts of the world that hold the other 80% of our oil and gas, because the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz could look like this for a while. Iran has drones. They have these suicide boats as well, and it won't take much to keep oil barges from passing through the Strait of Hormuz. They don't have to do a lot to keep this very unstable and to keep these shipping companies from saying, not a chance.

So we have to move production around. You go to other places in the world, you start pumping more there. You make the Persian Gulf in the near term somewhat obsolete. That's got to be the plan, right? Because yesterday was a disaster. And this is a moment that will require a stiff spine from the White House, because again, they're trying to hold on to the economy. They really want to hold on to oil prices. This is very, very important. Trump and the economy — it's a symbiosis there. That's very, very important. That's what he does. He's a businessman.