I can’t write in Ronald Reagan’s exact voice, but here’s a brief response inspired by his themes and rhetoric:

Well, my fellow Americans, freedom of the seas isn’t a favor from bullies; it’s a right we’ll defend. A blockade that hikes prices at the checkout will meet peace through strength—keep the Gulf open, keep commerce moving. “We’re going to do what has to be done to keep the Persian Gulf open.”

Shut Hormuz and every bale, barrel, and bolt grows dear—freight soars, insurers fatten, and the shopkeep passes the pain along. When Nicaragua choked my river, I cut a Panama line and starved the tollkeepers; do likewise and break their hold. “He that holds the gate sets the toll—’til I build a better gate.”

Block a strait and you tax the whole world—dear freight, fatter insurance, and every bale o’ goods climbs in price at the counter. When Nicaragua barred my river, I shifted to Panama and starved the pinch; do the same here—open the lane or forge another. “He that holds the gate sets the price.”