“It’s a beautiful thing,” President Donald Trump said recently, musing about a joint venture with Iran to act as the gatekeepers of the Strait of Hormuz. That same day, he posted on Truth Social, “Big money will be made” dealing with the “traffic buildup” there.

These are revealing remarks. Not because they are outrageous—Trump has said many outrageous things—but because they distill a worldview. They suggest a shift in how the United States might see its role: not as the guarantor of a system, but as a participant in a deal.

“It’s a beautiful thing,” President Donald Trump said recently, musing about a joint venture with Iran to act as the gatekeepers of the Strait of Hormuz. That same day, he posted on Truth Social, “Big money will be made” dealing with the “traffic buildup” there.

These are revealing remarks. Not because they are outrageous—Trump has said many outrageous things—but because they distill a worldview. They suggest a shift in how the United States might see its role: not as the guarantor of a system, but as a participant in a deal.

For most of its history, the U.S. has taken a different view. Freedom of navigation has been treated not as a privilege to be sold, but as a right to be defended. The young republic’s first military intervention—the quasi-war with France—was fought in part over interference with American shipping. Soon after, the U.S. confronted the Barbary pirates, refusing to pay tribute for safe passage and instead using force to establish the principle that commerce should move freely across the........

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