Barely weeks into the job, and even before he became US president for the second time in January, US President Donald Trump has been utilising a shock and awe approach to stymy friends and adversaries alike with a number of bizarre proposals.
The world has seemed to be at Trump’s mercy as he has ventured from one extreme to another. What will the world’s response be to this flurry of extremes, how much of what he proposes will transpire, and what will four more years of Trump in the White House mean for the rest of the planet?
Trump has made shocking waves by suggesting purchasing Greenland, annexing Canada, and taking over the Panama Canal. Domestically, too, his executive orders, a blitz of policy actions, have befuddled his team, from immigration and border changes to the deportation of refugees, from the withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement to the cancelling of USAID programmes, and from a 25 per cent tariff on Mexican and Canadian goods to the review of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
However, the most offbeat proposal of all has been his plan to take over Gaza in order to build a “Middle East Riviera.” If he had not apparently been serious in his suggestion and had not doubled down on it on several occasions, I would have considered it to be a flash of wit. But unfortunately, he was quite serious.
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Trump said. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs.” He also said that everybody loved his Gaza proposal.
When asked where the Gazans would move, his response was that Egypt and Jordan would take them since “we do a lot for them.” He insisted that the leaders of both Egypt and Jordan would agree to the move, which could be “temporary or long-term.” He finalised his proposal with a bombshell like no other: that he would not rule out deploying troops to support the reconstruction phase. This is contrary to his “America First” vision and his statements that he would not create any new wars while he is in office.
Trump’s proposal on Gaza is flatly illegal. It is ethnic cleansing plain and simple. Other than Israel, which cheered it on and rejoiced at it, both US allies and adversaries have rejected the proposal. Palestinians, Arabs, and countries around the world have condemned it. US Senator Chris Coons said he was baffled by Trump’s proposal. He called it “offensive and insane and dangerous and foolish.”
We must wonder how Trump thinks he will relocate the Palestinians from Gaza. The idea that they will want to evacuate their land is an illusion. They reclaimed their land in the wake of the recent ceasefire, and their intention is to stay put this time round.
We have all watched Gazans on television returning north and trudging through debris and chaos. “We would rather die here than leave,” one Palestinian said to the BBC. “You’re speaking to me while I’m cleaning a space to put up a tent,” 48-year-old Imad Ali Al-Zain said over the phone to the British broadcaster.
Nadia Qassem from the Al-Shati Refugee Camp in the Gaza Strip told the US network CNN that “we have been waiting for this day for so long. We want to return home… Even though my house is destroyed. I miss my land and my place,” she said.
What Trump wants to achieve is a pipe dream, an unattainable fantasy. How does he plan to take over Gaza? The might of the Israeli forces could not do it, even with the amount of bombs dropped on Gaza surpassing that in World War II. Is he going to send US forces in only to watch them come back in body bags to support Israel’s land-grabbing strategy?
Where is he planning to deploy them? Since the governments and citizens of Egypt and Jordan have refused to take the Gazans and dissolve the Palestinian issue, is he going to forcibly deport them and have Egypt and Jordan forcibly accept them? Will he resort to using Israeli forces to push them out? Or will he force open the borders and hope against hope that the Palestinians opt to depart?
Trump wants the world to accept his dominance, so he and his administration confront and attack other countries on a daily basis. He punished South Africa for standing with the Palestinians in the case against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC) by not providing any aid or assistance to them. Trump’s Vice-President, J D Vance, recently attacked European leaders at the Munich Security Conference, likening them to tyrants and autocrats.
At the White House, after embracing the Indian leader and describing him as a great friend, Trump warned him that India would not be immune from US customs tariffs. Out of sheer diplomatic politeness, King Abdullah II of Jordan tried not to react when Trump maintained his offensive stance on Gaza during a meeting in Washington.
Another visit that went terribly wrong was Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s recent trip to Washington. Earlier, Trump had described Zelensky as a “dictator” and demanded Ukrainian minerals worth $500 billion as a repayment for wartime aid. During his visit to the White House, Zelensky was treated with disdain and asked to leave after an angry scene with Trump and Vance.
Trump has said that World War III is not far away and that he is the only one who can stop it because he wants peace. All this, while the US’ traditional global leadership is at stake.
Since baffling proposals have become features of the US administration, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah A-Sisi cancelled his trip to Washington. Trump would doubtless have intentionally made condescending remarks and made the plan to displace the Palestinians the core of the discussions. The Egyptian people welcomed their president’s decision.
What Trump wants to achieve is implausible and will ultimately backfire against the US. As the world begins to see his proposals as bordering on tyranny and bullying, the US’ credibility is at stake.
The writer is a former professor of communication who is based in Vancouver, Canada.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 6 March, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
Short link: