President Trump just issued an order that should be printed on a bumper sticker and sold at every truck stop in America. After U.S. forces caught Iranian vessels dropping mines into the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway where roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply passes through every single day — Trump told the Navy to “splash” the boats.

Not “monitor the situation.” Not “consult with our European allies.” Not “draft a sternly worded letter to the UN Security Council.” Splash them. As in, put them on the bottom of the ocean. That’s the whole order.

(Somewhere in Delaware, Joe Biden just woke up from a nap and mumbled something about “strategic patience.”)

Remember the last administration’s Iran policy? Obama shipped $400 million in cash — actual pallets of physical cash — on an unmarked cargo plane to Tehran in the middle of the night. Biden unfroze $6 billion in Iranian assets because they pinky-swore they’d use it for “humanitarian purposes.” And what did Iran do with all that goodwill and all those billions? They funded Hamas. They funded Hezbollah. They shot down American aircraft. And now they’re planting mines in the most critical shipping lane on planet Earth.

So yeah, we tried the diplomacy-and-cash approach. It bought us mines in the water.

Trump’s approach is a little different. You plant mines, we sink your boats. It’s the kind of foreign policy you can explain to a five-year-old, which is probably why the folks at the State Department have such a hard time understanding it.

The Strait of Hormuz is about 21 miles wide at its narrowest point. Every barrel of oil coming out of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and the UAE passes through it. If Iran successfully mines that strait, gas prices don’t just go up — they go through the roof overnight. We’re talking five, six, seven dollars a gallon. Your grocery bill doubles because every truck that delivers food to your local store runs on diesel.

Iran knows this. That’s the whole point. They weren’t laying mines because they wanted to go fishing. They were trying to hold the global economy hostage.

And Trump said no.

Now, the usual suspects in the media are already doing their thing. “This is reckless escalation!” “Trump is provoking a war!” “What about diplomatic channels?” These are the same people who thought sending Iran a plane full of cash was brilliant statecraft. These are the same geniuses who watched Iran arm every terrorist group in the Middle East for eight years and called it “engagement.”

Pop quiz: When someone is actively laying explosives in international waters to blow up oil tankers, what’s the appropriate response? A) Call a meeting. B) Issue a press release. C) Sink the boats that are laying the explosives. If you answered C, congratulations — you’re smarter than the entire Biden foreign policy team.

Here’s what the pearl-clutchers don’t understand. Deterrence only works when the other side believes you’ll actually do something. Obama drew a red line in Syria and then pretended he never said it. Biden let Iran’s proxies attack U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria over 150 times before responding with a single strike on an empty warehouse. Trump tells the Navy to put Iranian minelayers at the bottom of the ocean.

Which approach do you think Iran takes more seriously?

The Iranians have been testing boundaries for years. They seized tankers. They harassed U.S. Navy ships with fast boats. They launched drones at American forces. Every time the previous administrations responded with words instead of action, Iran got bolder. That’s how you end up with mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump just reset the equation. You mess with international shipping lanes, your boats go swimming — without you in them.

This is developing, and there’s a decent chance Iran decides to test Trump’s resolve again. They’re not exactly known for making smart decisions. But the Navy is in position, the order is clear, and for the first time in a long time, Iran has to actually think about consequences before they act.

We went from pallets of cash to torpedoes. That’s what a change in leadership looks like.