Washington The roles of Donald Trump, the president, and Donald Trump, the real estate tycoon, are beginning to conflate in his current administration.
He began by attacking the Panama Canal, Greenland, and Canada. Trump is currently considering Gaza as America’s next big acquisition.
The president declared Tuesday night that the small strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea in a Middle East conflict zone could become the French Riviera and would be worth a long-term ownership stake.
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Even congressional Republicans were taken aback by his comments, which centered on his proposal to take control of Gaza.
In an X post on Wednesday, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., stated, “I believed we voted for America First.” It is not our place to consider another occupation that would destroy our treasure and cause our men’ blood to be spilled.
Trump seemed ready to deploy American troops into far-flung conflicts if the payoff was turning the bombed-out area into a posh tourist attraction, despite his remarks on the campaign trail about the foolishness of doing so.
Even though Tuesday’s statement was startling, Trump’s biography meant it wasn’t entirely unexpected. As a real estate developer, he matured by transforming the Commodore Hotel in Manhattan into the more upscale Grand Hyatt. Steve Witkoff, his special envoy to the Middle East, was a rich real estate executive, and he has other real estate entrepreneurs in his family and social circles.
Trump still considers the intrinsic monetary worth of land, whether it is a nation or a piece of land.
For instance, he is requiring that U.S. aid to Ukraine be backed by rare earth resources from that nation.
Jack O’Donnell, the former president of the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, stated in an interview that he is a real estate tycoon. He will therefore always suggest, “This is a great place to develop,” whenever there is [waterfront property].
During his first administration, Trump had that view of North Korea.
Consider it from a real estate standpoint, he told reporters as he described how North Korea could develop into a paradise by the sea if only its autocratic leader would allow the West to enter his remote nation.
He argued to Kim Jong-un that North Korea was a hidden gem ready for restoration as part of his effort to purge the nation of its nuclear weapons.
The White House National Security Council produced a stunning animation in 2018 that depicted what North Korea would become if it were to rapproche with the United States. High-rises in Miami with views of the ocean were featured in the montage.
During a summit in Singapore that year, Trump played the footage on an iPad for Kim, but the North Korean leader did not object. North Korea did not abandon its nuclear arsenal.
Although we wanted to make it as obvious as possible that there was an alternative, I didn’t think [Kim] would accept it. Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, stated in an interview.
Trump told reporters at the conclusion of the summit that he attempted to persuade Kim that North Korea would be a popular travel destination.
Trump claimed that their beaches were excellent. That’s what you see when they shoot their cannons into the sea, isn’t it? “Look at that view,” I remarked. That would make a fantastic condo behind, wouldn’t it? I clarified by saying, “You know, you could have the best hotels in the world right there instead of doing that.”
Although other aides researched the subject, Bolton claimed he did not remember Trump ever bringing up ideas to rehabilitate Gaza.
A paper for a comprehensive Middle East peace plan that looked at methods to make Gaza and the West Bank rich in prospective tourism prospects that would raise living standards was co-authored by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and top adviser during his first term.
Using Beirut, Hong Kong, Lisbon, Rio de Janeiro, Singapore, and Tel Aviv as examples, the 2020 research suggested that Gaza’s more than 40 kilometers of Mediterranean Sea coastline might be transformed into a contemporary metropolis with a beach view.
Kushner discussed Gaza’s potential during a Harvard University presentation last year. He claimed that if Palestinians concentrated on improving their standard of living, Gaza’s shoreline land might be extremely valuable.
In an appearance with talk show host Hugh Hewitt in October, one month prior to the presidential election, Trump reiterated that topic.
As a developer, you know, [Gaza] might be the most beautiful area because of the climate, the water, the weather, everything,” Trump remarked. It may be really lovely. It might be among the nicest places in the world, but it might also be the best thing in the Middle East.
The question of whether Trump’s statements are genuine or just a bargaining tactic is one that never goes away. According to Harvard Kennedy School professor Tarek Masoud, his warning that the United States will intervene and occupy Gaza may be the kind of “extreme” stance that compels other Middle Eastern nations—including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan—to pay attention and devise a different course of action.
“Maybe he’s saying, ‘If you’re not going to do this, I’m going to take ownership of it and you’re not going to like what happens,'” “Masoud said.”
He continued, “When you re talking about a territory that s just been subject to a pretty gruesome bombing campaign and has been for the last 17 years or so controlled by a religious mafia Hamas maybe talking about moving these people out and developing it into the Riviera is not the best look for the president of the United States.”