Retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral (SEAL) Robert Harward spoke with Larry Kudlow on Thursday about the potential for U.S. to take control of the Persian Gulf. Echoing President Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Harward said: “The U.S. Military can do anything they can set their mind on.”
Harward added: “You used the term the Persian Gulf. For the last decade I’ve heard it referred to as the Arabian Gulf, because there are in fact more Arab nations…on that body of water. But the problem here is you had the Persians trying to control the Strait of Hormuz illegally…Iran now claims it is theirs and they control it.”
Harward said the U.S. can assert control of the Gulf — and the Strait — in multiple ways. “We can do it,” he said. “There’s ways to do it politically and ways to do it kinetically, and obviously President Trump has taken the non-kinetic approach at the moment.”
On U.S. taking control of the Persian Gulf, Vice Admiral Robert Harward says “the U.S. Military can do anything they can set their mind on” pic.twitter.com/zjpUk84FQv
— Larry Kudlow (@larry_kudlow) April 23, 2026
Kudlow echoed Harward’s assessment later on the network and suggested the Gulf could be renamed the “Trump Gulf.” Kudlow said of the Iranian leadership: “It’s over, they just don’t know it’s over.”
Kudlow — who served as director of the National Economic Council during the first Trump administration — added: “The U.S. will control the Persian Gulf, which probably should be The Arabian Gulf or maybe it should be The Trump Gulf. We will control the Persian Gulf for quite some time. The mischief of Iran is coming to an end.”
Kudlow: The US will control The Persian Gulf, which probably should be The Arabian Gulf or The Trump Gulf. pic.twitter.com/gR0wAV2Ri7
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 23, 2026
[NOTE: Harward is the Executive Vice President of International Business and Strategy for Shield AI, an AI-focused defense technology company, where he “is responsible for expanding the company’s international business operations and strategy on every continent.” When Harward joined Shield AI in 2022, he opened the company’s international office in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).]
On Monday, Shield AI announced that it has been selected to compete for an $800 million contract with the U.S. Navy “to provide contractor-owned, contractor-operated (COCO) intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) services in support of naval and joint force operations.”