Is Trump Forcing the Strait of Hormuz Open? With Rich Goldberg and Garrett Exner
Is Trump Forcing the Strait of Hormuz Open? With Rich Goldberg and Garrett Exner  
Podcast: School of War
Published On: Mon May 04 2026
Description: Rich Goldberg, senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and Garrett Exner, adjunct fellow at Hudson Institute, return to School of War to discuss the complicated news out of the Strait of Hormuz. What is President Donald Trump’s new plan, “Project Freedom”? Does it put the ceasefire at risk? What’s really happening in this critical waterway? Times: 02:31 - President’s statement 04:00 - Understanding Project Freedom 07:15 - Attacks against tankers 09:53 - Central Command statement 12:15 - Ceasefire breakdown 16:25 - Coordination cell or escort 18:00 - Trump buying time 20:40 - US Navy escort option 23:06 - Missile defense 24:45 - Economic impacts 27:01 - Iran under pressure 31:50 - Live news US vessel transit 34:15 - Human factor of outbound transit 37:30 - American gas production 39:28 - Predictions in America’s favor Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more at The Free Press.