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Right-wing media defend Trump's call to “take over” Gaza and expel Palestinians

Fox host Jesse Watters: Trump “can finally bring peace and prosperity and seaside condos” to Gaza

Written by Noah Dowe

Research contributions from Helena Hind, Jane Lee, Isabella Corrao, Alicia Sadowski, Alex Kaplan & Tyler Monroe

Published

On Tuesday, during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump said the United States “will take over” and take “ownership” of Gaza, displacing its population and redeveloping it into “the Riviera of the Middle East.” 

Right-wing media immediately justified — and in some cases, outright endorsed — Trump’s statements, with some figures arguing Palestinians and others in the region “should be grateful” and declaring that “the strategic goal in Gaza is now and has always been ethnic cleansing.” Others argued Trump was “negotiating” or “playing four-dimensional chess” by “just kind of floating an idea.”

  • Trump proposed that the U.S. “take over” Gaza, displacing the Palestinian population

    • On Tuesday, Trump declared the U.S. “will take over the Gaza Strip” and force the Palestinian population to relocate into “other countries.” At a press conference with Netanyahu, Trump proposed that “all of” Gaza’s population could be removed so the strip could be redeveloped and turned into “the Riviera of the Middle East,” adding that U.S. troops could be used “if it’s necessary.” [NPR, 2/5/25; The New York Times, 2/5/25; CNN, 2/4/25]
    • Trump suggested last fall that Gaza “could be better than Monaco” if rebuilt, complaining that Palestinians “never took advantage” of its oceanfront location. [The Guardian, 10/8/24] 
    • Jared Kushner said earlier last year that “Gaza’s waterfront property could be very valuable,” adding that “from Israel’s perspective I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up.” [The Guardian, 3/19/24]
    • Human rights organizations and experts in international law said the forced displacement of Gaza’s population would violate international law — It “would constitute a crime against humanity,” said Amnesty International. A number of institutions, including Amnesty International, the United Nations, and the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law, and Armed Conflict, quickly denounced Trump’s proposal; as reported by The New York Times, forced displacement “is prohibited by multiple provisions of the Geneva Conventions, and the Nuremberg Tribunal after World War II defined it as a war crime.” [Amnesty International, 2/5/25; Barron’s, 2/5/25; The New York Times, 2/5/25] 

  • Some right-wing media figures directly endorsed Trump’s proposal

    • Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt: “Why wouldn’t they [Palestinians in Gaza] say thanks for doing this?” She added, “If you look at the video of Gaza, that is no place I would ever want to go or visit.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 2/5/25] 
    • Daily Wire host Michael Knowles said that “the strategic goal in Gaza is now and has always been ethnic cleansing.” On social media, Knowles claimed: “If anyone could make Gaza beautiful again, it’s Trump!” [The Daily Wire, The Michael Knowles Show, 2/5/25; Twitter/X, 2/4/25]
    • Fox contributor Marc Thiessen said the “people of the region should be grateful” for Trump’s “vision for a prosperous Gaza.” “This is what I love about Donald Trump,” Thiessen said. “He sees the potential for a new riviera in the Middle East.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 2/5/25] 
    • Fox host Jesse Watters celebrated that Trump “can finally bring peace and prosperity and seaside condos” to Gaza. “Is taking over Gaza the solution? We don’t know,” Watters continued. “But you’re not going to get results by doing the same old thing over and over again.” [Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 2/4/25] 
    • Former Trump deputy national security adviser Victoria Coates claimed that the president is offering Palestinians “peace through prosperity.” Coates continued, “He wants them to have a better future. It’s theirs to take.” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 2/4/25]
    • Article III Project senior counsel Will Chamberlain posted, “The Gaza strip will be OURS. American property. … OUR property where we can enforce OUR immigration rules.” [Twitter/X, 2/4/25]
    • Fox host Laura Ingraham said the takeover could “solve a problem” and “we may actually make money on it” and get repaid for “the tens of billions of dollars … we have dumped into the Middle East.” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 2/4/25] 
    • On Watters’ show, Middle East Forum chief editor Jim Hanson said that he “was looking at oceanfront property on the MAGA strip, maybe Mar-a-Lago on the Med.” Hanson also suggested that “leaving them there is a — just a guarantee of more terrorism.” [Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 2/4/25] 
    • Fox host Brian Kilmeade posted, “Why not? We send them money they buy weapons and dig tunnels - lets try this !!” [Twitter/X, 2/4/25]
    • “Libs of TikTok” founder Chaya Raichik: “CALL IT THE MAGA STRIP.” [Twitter/X, 2/4/25]
    • Salem radio host Eric Metaxas called Trump’s proposal “brilliant and astonishing,” adding, “May God bless this effort!” [Twitter/X, 2/4/25]
    • Right-wing commentator Dave Rubin posted an image seemingly depicting Trump Tower in rubble-filled Gaza, captioned, “Now serving the best shakshouka anywhere between the river and the sea!” [Twitter/X, 2/4/25]
    • QAnon influencer Ben Moore, known online as “Sun Tzu,” said Trump “should” take over Gaza, calling the strip a “money pit and a money laundering trap used by the deep state.” [Twitter/X, 2/4/25; Media Matters, 10/18/24]

  • Others suggested Trump is negotiating or engaging in “creative thinking”

    • Fox host Sean Hannity claimed Trump “is negotiating and sending a loud message to the entire Arab world.” “Eliminate terrorism in the area and a new day will begin,” Hannity argued. [Fox News, Hannity, 2/4/25] 
    • Hannity later complained that “the media is freaking out” when Trump just wants to “create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for people.” [Fox News, Hannity, 2/4/25] 
    • Daily Wire host Ben Shapiro said “there is no doubt that Trump’s creative thinking is breaking the mold and changing things.” [Twitter/X, 2/4/25]
    • Fox & Friends co-host Lawrence Jones said Trump “was talking about a new day for the Palestinian people, and that's one thing — they haven't had hope.” “I'm not saying this is the solution,” Jones added. “But I like the conversation being started.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 2/5/25]
    • Jones’ co-host Steve Doocy claimed that “the last thing” Trump wants is to “put boots on the ground in Gaza,” despite Trump’s statement that he would do so “if it’s necessary.” Doocy: “I think this was his opening salvo, first idea.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 2/5/25] 
    • Newsmax host Greg Kelly defended Trump as “just kind of floating an idea” to take over Gaza, adding, “He’s allowed to think out loud.” Guest Fred Fleitz suggested, “This may be a way to smoke out an even better approach.” [Newsmax, Greg Kelly Reports, 2/4/25]
    • Outnumbered co-host and former Trump White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany claimed the president “is playing four-dimensional chess.” McEnany suggested that Trump may not be “trying to take Gaza,” but instead embarking on “a grand part of a negotiation to get Iran … to stop its nuclear warfare on the world.” [Fox News, Outnumbered, 2/5/25]