His MAGAsty Meets His Majesty - Trump Thread #163

[Spandauer]

America's very own mad king.
Oh, the irony.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ERYukmba5Vg

Previous thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5518997-schrodingers-strait-trump-thread-162a?page=1

A reporter from US outlet Axios says a senior US official - who isn't named - has denied one of its ships was hit by Iranian missiles.
The Iranian military earlier claimed it had prevented a US Navy destroyer from entering the Strait of Hormuz.
Fars, the semi-official Iranian news agency, says a vessel was hit by two missiles as it was sailing through the Strait of Hormuz "in violation of traffic and shipping security".
According to claims by Fars, an American ship was "forced to retreat and flee the area".

Yeah, I only got through one series of "Scandal" but TBH if I can't vote with a pencil on a piece of paper, then it's open to fraud.
speaking as someone who regularly staffed the polling stations in UK General and Local elections for years

I know a few that would normally travel. They aren't.
One of them had a FIL with a farm...and a spare, slightly leaky barn. They've fixed the roof, upgraded the power and are getting a "big screen" 🤷🏻‍♀️ and have bought some huge fridges (for the 🍻🍺🍸 obvs) and are thinking about hog roasts on match days.
He reckons between them (about 8 or 9 guys) it's way cheaper, and because it's remote and a private party, it will only disturb a few cows...

Quote : "Ship owners are all shouting "Bollocks!""

You are gonna kick yourself.

"Bollards !"

I had a vague memory of Trump being very keen on the electronic voting machines particularly despite them being open to abuse by foreign states. If the internet is down I suspect the public is less able to coordinate anything or agree who they did/didn't vote for. Is that not what they did in Georgia (the Country)?

Everything is a contradiction. CNN feed just now:

"Central Command says 2 US-flagged merchant vessels have gone through Strait of Hormuz
By Michael Williams
Two US-flagged merchant vessels have successfully transited through the Strait of Hormuz, the US military said this morning.
“American forces are actively assisting efforts to restore transit for commercial shipping,” US Central Command said in a post on X.
The ships’ successful navigation of the strait comes a day after President Donald Trump vowed to guide vessels through the waterway, where Iran is attempting to control shipping."

Fair enough news. Except that Trump has said the US does not use the strait.

Re: gerrymandering.
Apologies if this has already been mentioned and I missed it here.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/30/states-redistricting-maps-voting-rights-act

For all the news around voting, both depressing and optimistic, I highly recommend Mark Elias

https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/exclusive-new-records-show-paper-trail-of-doge-voter-data-pact-with-election-deniers/

In lighthearted news. Not sure Trump understands the rules of UNO. Unless he is announcing he’s losing.

in less lighthearted news I have the radio on in the background and we seem to be having a day where the news is changing every hour. Presumably there will be another ship returning to port sometime soon with a ‘laundry fire’ or some such.

I’ve been catching up with the thread. When I got to the post about Trump declaring more action today I went to Flightradar before continuing to see if I could guess the next few pages’ updates. Airspace was busier than I was expecting in the area though noticeably very quiet over Kuwait and Iraq, even Dammam. Still busy in & out of Riyadh, Muscat, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Doha’s looking less busy.

US saying they have complete control of the Strait.

Oh my days! 😂😂😂

Sure. If you say so US. 🙄 Show me the oil!

South Korea’s foreign ministry has confirmed to the Guardian that a vessel operated by South Korean shipping company HMM, the HMM Namu, suffered an explosion and fire inside the strait of Hormuz at 20:40 Korean time.

The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has been speaking to Fox News as the US Central Command (Centcom) said two US-flagged merchant vessels have “successfully transited” through the strait of Hormuz. Some key takeaways from the interview:

Gas prices are affecting Americans but they are expected to come down quickly once the war ends, Bessent claimed.

He urged China, one of Iran’s major trading partners, to join the US in supporting the reopening of the strait of Hormuz.

The US president, Donald Trump, and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, have discussed Iran in their phone calls together, Bessent said.
He said the US has absolute control of the strait since its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
....
The UAE diplomatic adviser Anwar Gargash has condemned the targeting of a tanker affiliated with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) as it transited the strait of Hormuz .
msn.

Yeah. Comical Ali.

Who remembers him.

It looks like the South Korean cargo vessel was hit in a "suspected strike" in the Strait of Hormuz. The vessel was reportedly anchored in waters near the UAE

Iranian state media have shared a statement from the IRGC saying “no commercial vessels or oil tankers” have passed through the Strait of Hormuz in “recent hours”.
The IRGC says the US statements are “baseless and entirely false”, and warns that any other movements against the instructions of the IRGC Navy “face serious risks”.
BBC.

I remember the Falklands war. And how in the age of videotape they managed to get video on the news. I can't remember how. but I recall it involved physically flying the reports to a place with a satellite thing.

I don't know if it's my location and the internet here, but I am seeing nowt from the gulf.

Are you folk on the "outside" getting actual news from the ground ?

UAE reports large fire at oil port after drone attack from Iranpublished at 16:50
16:50BREAKING
A large fire has broken out at Fujairah, a key UAE oil port after it was hit by a drone attack from Iran, local officials say.
Fujairah is the Emirates' biggest port and oil storage facility. Before the ceasefire, it was also targeted in drone attacks.
In a statement shared on social media, the Fujairah Government Media Office says civil defence teams are working to contain the fire.
The report of the strike came as the UAE defence ministry said it had intercepted three missiles launched from Iran.

So Iran have broken the ceasefire. 🙄

@RedTagAlan
new thread started
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/conflict-in-the-middle-east/5525409-its-kicking-off-in-dubai-again-flightradar24

Just checked my messages and Dubai was issued with an emergency alert around 3 hours ago.

What were the terms of the ceasefire again ?

I honestly can't remember.

Rename it the "Strait of Trump" and give the US all of the oil for free?

Also,- generally - how do you know which drone came from where once they've exploded?🤷🏻‍♀️

The Iranian Army Navy "issued a warning and fired warning shots along the route of the hostile enemy destroyers".
The Iranian military says US destroyers turned off their radars before approaching the strait, and were "detected immediately" after reactivating them.
The destroyers then received a radio warning from the Navy "regarding the dangers of violating the ceasefire", the Iranian military adds.
Another "explicit warning" was sent to the destroyer, according to the Iranian military, saying that "any attempt to enter the Strait of Hormuz would be considered a violation of the ceasefire and would be met with a response from naval forces".
It says warning shots were fired after the Americans "disregarded" the warning.

Americans playing chicken in the Gulf and UAE gets a drone attack in retaliation?