Opening the Strait was the objective, so the US Proles can have cheap gas, until the day after the election, when the Proles are, again, expendable

The first part of that sentence is true, and the second is not.

This doesn't go away the day after the election. It is never a good time for the Strait to be closed. It will never be a good time for Trump to have to deal with rising gas prices, rising food prices (as fertilizer costs spike), disruption to U.S. access to chips (as Taiwan suffers from helium shortages), and a world wide Great Recession. Trump gains nothing from the Strait being closed except problems.

And honestly, it actually gets even worse for Trump in 2027 that it was now. Sure, the midterms are important - but a MAGA Trump ally succeeding him to the Presidency is existential. Trump cannot afford to have a Democrat elected in 2028. He can't have his immediate successor tearing up all his executive orders, tearing down all his monuments, and (worst of all) having the DOJ look into everything he's been up to for the last four years. He needs a four year break for everything to age, witnesses to forget (or get cushy outside jobs), and for the heat to die down.

The GOP Presidential primaries basically kick off in the late spring - about five or six months after the midterm elections. He doesn't want his chosen successor (whoever it is) launching their campaign among questions about why the Iran war is still going on after a full year, why gas prices are still over $4.00, why interest rates are still high, why inflation is higher than ever, etc.

Steve, I think you've gotten a little too married to your investment thesis, here. Trump doesn't secretly want high oil prices. He's not going to keep the Strait closed so that oil prices will go up. He wants the Strait open. This isn't a temporary aberration, it's not a ruse. He gains nothing from a closed Strait - and since he doesn't gain from it, he's not going to close it again.

Keep in mind, Trump will lie about anything, anywhere, any time, to polish his image, even when his lies are easily exposed, and he looks like a bellowing fool, to everyone but his a$$ kissers.

Of course. Remember, though, that means that will lie to oil executives. He'll lie to Iran hawks. He'll lie to Israel supporters, to members of the Israeli government, to "Bibi" himself. There's no one he won't lie to. And he lied when he suggested that he was going to be firm and resilient in bringing down Iran and eliminating their threat to the region. He lies when he says he doesn't care about high gas prices, that he won't succumb to political pressure when it comes to fighting Iran, that he's got it all in hand.

He doesn't have a secret plan to restart the war so he can win it after November. This was it. The bump in oil prices from Iran shoving Trump's ignorance of war planning in his face is over. There will be hiccups and bumps going forward, of course - especially if Israel starts bombing Lebanon or Iran. But we're not restarting the war, and we're not shutting down the Strait again - even after the midterms.