US President Donald Trump and his administration have been maneuvering through his Gaza takeover claims in media interviews – and it is following the exact playbook that Jerusalem Post News Editor Alex Winston laid out last Wednesday, just hours after the now infamous joint press conference with Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held at the White House.
Outlining how Trump’s Gaza plan is not remotely feasible, Winston said the president probably knows he’s not proposing a realistic strategy.
“By throwing out a seemingly preposterous plan, Trump may be forcing these countries to react – if only to reject his idea and propose an alternative,” he wrote. “Suddenly, discussions about how to rebuild Gaza, who will govern it, and where displaced Palestinians might go shift from a vague, open-ended conversation to one with real stakes.”
Separate interviews conducted with Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio reveal this playbook at work, with the president continuing to make outlandish claims and Rubio attempting to bring other leaders into the fold.
Fox News released additional clips Monday of an interview that its chief political anchor Bret Baier conducted with Trump, some of it airing before the Super Bowl game Sunday night with more to be released Monday night.
In the clip released Monday, Trump said the US will build “beautiful communities for the 1.9 million people” of Gaza “a little bit away” from where the danger is.
“In the meantime, I would own this – think of it as a real estate development for the future. It would be a beautiful piece of land,” he said.
Trump told Baier that Palestinians would not have the right to return to the land because they’re “going to have much better housing – much better.”
Marco Rubio commented
Meanwhile, Rubio struck a different tone in his interview with commentator Scott Jennings at conservative talk radio channel SiriusXM Patriot.
Rubio did not echo the commander-in-chief in talking about viewing Gaza as a real estate investment or where he would force Palestinians to resettle.
Instead, he focused on the pressure other leaders face in stepping up to Trump.
“Someone’s got to go in – for anybody to be able to live there, someone’s got to – you’ve got to clean it up,” Rubio said. “You’ve got to clean all that out of there even before you begin the process of removing rubble and debris and rebuilding housing, like permanent structures. Who’s going to do that?”
According to Rubio, Trump is the only one who has stood up and said he’s willing to help Gaza.
Other leaders have to step up, the secretary of state said, adding that if they’ve got a better idea, now is the time for other governments and powers in the region to say they’ll take charge financially.
“None of them is offering to do it. And I think that you can’t go around claiming that you’re a fighter for, an advocate for the Palestinian people, but you’re not willing to do anything to help rebuild Gaza.” Rubio said. “And so far, we haven’t seen a lot of – they’ve all – they’ll all tell you what they’re not for. But we’re still waiting for more countries to step forward and say here’s what we’re willing to do.”
He said that other countries have not been willing to do anything concrete.
“So, it’s time,” Rubio said. “If they don’t like Donald Trump’s plan, then it’s time for these countries in the region to step forward and offer their solution.”