President Donald Trump has shared a video online showing Gaza being rebuilt into a resort style destination complete with a “Trump Gaza” hotel.
The AI-generated video shows the war-torn area transform into a beach holiday destination, and features a golden statue of the president in the streets and tech billionaire Elon Musk eating food.
The video ends with Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in bathing suits drinking by the side of a pool at a fictional “Trump Gaza.”
Why It Matters
Trump faced international criticism for suggesting on February 4 that the U.S. could “take over” Gaza and resettle about 2 million Palestinians for a “Riviera of the Middle East” rebuild. The proposal would overturn decades of American policy in the region.
Trump’s video paints the move, which the UN warned was “tantamount to ethnic cleansing,” in a postive light as ceasfire talks continue between Israel and Hamas.
There are some doubts about how literally Trump’s proposal should be understood, given his reputation as a negotiator used to unsettling partners via unexpected angles.
What To Know
Trump shared the video on his Truth Social platform late on Monday night eastern time.
It begins with people, including children, walking through rubble with the caption “Gaza 2025, what’s next” displayed.
The video then shows a Dubai-style holiday resort, Trump’s adviser Elon Musk, eating some bread, bearded belly dancers on a beach, a child holding a gold-colored balloon of Trump’s head, and the president dancing with a woman at a nightclub.
Elsewhere, the video shows the outside of a “Trump Gaza” luxury hotel, as well as a golden statue of the president in the middle of a busy street, and another shot of Musk walking on a beach with money falling from the sky.
Trump and Netanyahu are shown lying topless by the side of a pool with a drink in hand at the end of the clip.
Throughout the clip a song is played over the top, which features the lyrics: “Donald Trump will set you free, bringing the life for all to see, no more tunnels, no more fear, Trump’s Gaza is finally here.”
The song also repeats the line “Trump’s Gaza is shining bright, golden future, a brand new life.”
In August 2019, Trump made light of the news surrounding his interest in purchasing Greenland by promising he would not construct one of his towers on the autonomous Danish territory.
The president posted a doctored photo on Twitter, now called X, showing one of his skyscrapers looming over a small village, adding: “I promise not to do this to Greenland!”
Trump has since renewed his interest in purchasing the island. The idea has been strongly rejected by Greenland and Denmark’s political leaders.
What People Are Saying
Author and political activist Shola Mos-Shogbamimu posted on X: “President of the United States posts video of him taking over Gaza with his statue for worship, dollars raining, Trump Gaza as centerpiece as he & Netanyahu chill at the beach. Ethnic cleansing rebranded as a real estate deal. Colonialist White Supremacist Zionism. Pure Evil.”
Independent Nebraska State Senator Megan Hunt posted: “Trump sees Gaza not as a home to millions of human beings, but as an empty plot of land for his next branding project. The lives of Palestinians mean nothing to him—they are simply an obstacle to be bulldozed over for casinos, golf courses, and beachfront resorts. Sick person.”
Collin Rugg, co-owner of conservative news site Trending Politics, posted to his 2 million X followers: “President Trump shares a video of an AI vision for the Gaza Strip, ends with Trump having drinks at a pool with Benjamin Netanyahu. The video also features bearded men in bikini tops. Nothing could have prepared me for this.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio defending Trump’s Gaza plans on February 5: “It was not meant as a hostile move. It was meant as a very generous move, the offer to rebuild and to be in charge of the rebuilding of a place many parts of which right now, even if people move back, they would have nowhere to live safely, because there are still unexploded munitions and debris and rubble.”
What Happens Next
Egypt will host an emergency summit of Arab nationals on March 4 to discuss plans to rebuild the Gaza Strip without displacing its Palestinians. The summit was planned in response to Trump’s Gaza comments.