Is Morocco naming highway after Trump, as he claimed? What we know

Though several reputable news outlets have reported on the claim, they all cite one of the U.S. president's social media posts. Published July 30, 2026 On July 26, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump posted a video on his social media platform, Truth Social, in which it was claimed Morocco had announced it would name a highway after him. The rumor and footage spread across social media, and several readers contacted us looking for more information about whether Morocco was naming a road "The President Donald J. Trump Highway." Multiple reputable news media outlets reported on the story, including Forbes and Bloomberg in the U.S., El País in Spain and Hespress English in Morocco. Each article cites one person as evidence for the claim — Trump himself. The Moroccan government, as of this writing, has not provided any information confirming Trump's announcement. While the U.S. president often makes announcements himself instead of delegating that task to subordinates or fellow world leaders, he also has a history of suggesting things should or will be named after him, which on repeated occasions hasn't materialized. Though the highway does exist (it is commonly referred to as the Tiznit-Dakhla Expressway), it was not possible to apply a rating to the claim that Morocco plans to name it after Trump without a statement from the Moroccan government. Snopes contacted both the White House and the Moroccan government for comment but had not heard back from either at the time of publication. Trump's announcement came in the form of a four-minute video seemingly narrated by an AI-generated voice, based on the audio's hissy, high frequencies and the voice's robotic cadence (though Snopes has not been able to independently confirm this). According to the footage, the highway is more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) long and connects Tiznit, located in southwestern Morocco, with Laayoune and Dakhla, the two biggest cities in the territory of Western Sahara. Western Sahara is a disputed territory. It was a Spanish colony until the mid-1970s, when pressure from Morocco, Mauritania and the region's indigenous Sahrawi people forced the Spanish out. Morocco and Mauritania, seeking to exploit the region's phosphate deposits, immediately moved in, claiming the territory under the guise of decolonization. The Sahrawis, under the banner of the Polisario Front, fought off the Mauritanians in 1979, but only agreed to a ceasefire with Morocco in 1991, on the promise they would receive an independence referendum. That referendum, as of this writing, has still not occurred, and Morocco occupies and claims the region. The U.S. recognized Morocco's claim in 2020, reportedly as part of the Abraham Accords, which normalized the Arab nation's relations with Israel. Israel recognized Morocco's claim to Western Sahara in 2023, but no other countries have joined the U.S. and Israel in doing so. Spain, France and the U.K., meanwhile, support a plan for regional autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty that King Mohammed VI proposed in 2007. According to Hespress and El País, Morocco began a series of infrastructure improvements in the region in 2015 with the goal of integrating the sparsely populated Western Sahara into the country. In addition to the highway, finished in 2025, the country is building a large port just north of Dakhla that it hopes will transform the region. The port is expected to be finished in 2028, according to CNN. Sources Folk, Zachary. "Trump Indicates Morocco Is Naming A Highway After Him." Forbes, Jul 26, 2026, https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacharyfolk/2026/07/26/trump-indicates-morocco-is-naming-a-highway-after-him/.Hespress EN. "Southern Morocco's Major Highway Project Fully Opened." Hespress English, 10 Jan. 2025, https://en.hespress.com/100553-southern-moroccos-major-highway-project-fully-opened.html.———. "Trump Announces Tiznit–Dakhla Highway Will Be Named in His Honor, Thanks King Mohammed VI." Hespress English, 26 July 2026, https://en.hespress.com/142637-trump-announces-tiznit-dakhla-highway-will-be-named-in-his-honor-thanks-king-mohammed-vi.html.'Israeli Recognition of Moroccan Sovereignty in Western Sahara'. INSS, https://www.inss.org.il/publication/western-sahara/. Accessed 29 July 2026.Karam, Souhail. "Trump Says 660-Mile Highway in Disputed Sahara to Bear His Name." Bloomberg, 27 July 2026, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-27/trump-says-660-mile-highway-in-disputed-sahara-to-bear-his-name.Lewis, Nell. "'We'Re Constructing an Ecosystem': How a Small, Windy City Could Become a Gateway for Trade." CNN, 28 May 2024, https://www.cnn.com/world/africa/new-atlantic-port-of-dakhla-africa-trade-spc-intl.Magee, Caolán, and P. A. Media. 'UK Swings behind Morocco's Autonomy Proposal for Western Sahara'. The Guardian, 1 June 2025. World News. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/01/uk-swings-behind-moroccos-autonomy-proposal-for-western-sahara.'Morocco's Autonomy Proposal'. UN Security Council Report, 13 Apr. 2007, https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/MINURSO%20S2007%20206.pdf."Morocco Names New Highway in Occupied Western Sahara after Donald Trump." Middle East Eye, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/morocco-names-new-highway-occupied-western-sahara-after-donald-trump. Accessed 28 July 2026.Proclamation on Recognizing The Sovereignty Of The Kingdom Of Morocco Over The Western Sahara – The White House. https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-recognizing-sovereignty-kingdom-morocco-western-sahara/. Accessed 29 July 2026.'Quick Take: Trump Announces Starmer Is Resigning'. Sky News, 21 June 2026, https://news.sky.com/story/quick-take-trump-announces-starmer-is-resigning-13556521.Sanz, Iker Seisdedos, Juan Carlos. "Marruecos dedica a Trump la nueva autopista de un millar de kilómetros que enlaza con el Sáhara." El País, 26 July 2026, https://elpais.com/internacional/2026-07-26/marruecos-dedica-a-trump-la-nueva-autopista-de-un-millar-de-kilometros-que-enlaza-con-el-sahara.html.Sanz, Juan Carlos. "Marruecos busca duplicar la población del sur del Sáhara con un aluvión de inversiones." El País, 24 June 2024, https://elpais.com/internacional/2024-06-24/marruecos-busca-duplicar-la-poblacion-del-sur-del-sahara-con-un-aluvion-de-inversiones.html.Yerkes, Sarah, and Natalie Triche. Trump's Lesser-Known Deal of the Century? Resolving the Western Sahara Conflict. Feb. 2025. carnegieendowment.org, https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2025/02/western-sahara-morocco-sahrawi-trump. By Jack Izzo Jack Izzo is a Chicago-based journalist and two-time "Jeopardy!" alumnus. Article Tags