BY MATT BERG
& CROOKED MEDIA

WEDNESDAY
FEBRUARY 5, 2025

There’s probably a couple of kinks in that slinky.” 

— Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), [on Trump’s idea for the U.S.]([link removed]) to “own” the Gaza Strip.

MAR-A-UH-OH

Donald Trump’s pitch for the U.S. to “own” Gaza is alienating [people around the world]([link removed]). His idea to turn the enclave into the “Riviera of the Middle East” shows he only thinks in real estate deals. 

- President Donald Trump has only the dimmest understanding of foreign affairs, history or diplomacy. But he’s always fashioned himself a real estate guy. And that’s the lens he’s bringing to U.S. foreign policy in his second term — whether it’s the acquisition of Greenland or trying to slap tariffs on neighbors as if he were renegotiating the rent. Nowhere was this approach more evident than his unhinged proposal last night to send two million Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan while bulldozers clean up the rubble caused by Israel’s devastating war. (Both countries [adamantly oppose the idea]([link removed]) for many reasons.) Then, Trump wants to turn Gaza into some type of global tourist destination packed with resorts and golf courses. In Trumpworld, the territory is [“valuable” waterfront property]([link removed]).

- Trump’s proposing a crime against humanity and “no one should miss that,” Matt Duss, Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-VT) former foreign policy adviser, told What A Day. The president “has made it the stated policy of the United States to commit and support a crime against humanity,” he added. The definition of ethnic cleaning includes the mass expulsion of an ethnic group — a move forbidden by the Geneva Conventions. 

- Aside from, you know, the human atrocities, developing Gaza isn’t in itself an objectionable idea. Palestinians should have a habitable home territory, at peace with its neighbors. But Trump “sees everything as a money-making deal, a real estate deal,” Duss said. Palestinians are going to need economic security and safety if peace is the objective, he added. “Let the Palestinians rebuild Gaza for themselves. That’s ultimately the only way that you're going to get a sustainable and genuine future of peaceful coexistence.”
 

- Some Republicans are even taking aim at Trump’s plans: “I thought we voted for America First. We have no business contemplating yet another occupation to doom our treasure and spill our soldiers’ blood,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) [tweeted]([link removed]). Even a broken clock like Rand is right twice a day!

 
Trump’s idea doesn’t just turn decades of U.S. policy on its head: It treats the Palestinians as a non-entity. 

- It’s extremely unlikely Israel’s far-right would allow Palestinians to return once they’ve been expelled, because Israeli [settlers want to occupy Gaza]([link removed]). And who would even pay for the development? Trump’s track record shows he’s hardly likely to follow through on picking up the tab — [a possible $50 billion over 40 years]([link removed]). What’s more, Trump put most people who would work on such development projects [on administrative leave today]([link removed])! Forcing other countries to accept refugees would inevitably stoke tensions in the Middle East, which isn’t what anyone needs right now.

- Hamas militants in Gaza and other regional extremists have a potent new recruiting message, as [Crooked’s Tommy Vietor points out]([link removed]): Join us or be expelled from your homeland, possibly forever. When Trump announced his plan, Susie Wiles, his own chief of staff Susie Wiles, [shot daggers at him with her eyes]([link removed]). So, yeah, it seems that even she agrees with us. Welcome to the resistance, Susie!

- All of this is emblematic of the transactional nature of Trumpworld 2.0. In less than a month, Trump and his cronies have proposed building [Mar-a-Lago in Gaza]([link removed]), buying Greenland and Canada, raising rent on Canada and Mexico, and seizing the Panama Canal. Most of these sweeping, unrealistic claims, experts believe, are empty nonsense to make headlines and rile up the folks in the cheap seats.

- “A lot of it is theater and throwing things out there and just becoming the center of the conversation, without there being much substance,” Mairav Zonszein, a senior Israel analyst with the Crisis Group think tank, told What A Day. “But at the same time, we can't just say it’s just rhetoric. We don't know what he's going to do.” 

One thing we do know: Trump gave Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right coalition “what they were looking for,” Zonszein added. For more on this, check out [today’s What A Day podcast]([link removed]) with Crooked’s Ben Rhodes.

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WHAT ELSE?

[Pod Save America’s Jon, Lovett, and Tommy are live-streaming interviews]([link removed]) with Senate Democrats as they hold the Senate floor all night to oppose the nomination of Russ Vought, one of the key architects of Project 2025, who is now Donald Trump's pick for director of the Office of Management and Budget. [Tune in, starting at 6pm ET]([link removed])!
 
[The CIA sent the White House an unclassified email listing all agents]([link removed]) hired over the past two years, to comply with the “federal cost-cutting requirements.” One former agent described it as a “counterintelligence disaster,” which sounds about right, considering some of the people tasked with shrinking the government are [teens who just graduated high school]([link removed]). Perfect system; no notes! 
 
[USAID staffers are circulating a memo attacking Elon Musk’s “illegal takeover,”]([link removed]) in the wake of the tech tycoon’s assault on their agency.  How many staff have been impacted? “It’s hard to know the exact number because the people in charge have no idea what they are doing and aren’t sharing information with Congress,” reads the memo, obtained by What A Day.
 
[The U.S. Postal Service reversed its decision to accept packages from China]([link removed]) and Hong Kong, a day after banning the packages because of China's retaliatory tariff on the U.S. Weirdly, the USPS gave no reason for the change. The U.S. is definitely gonna win this trade war!
 
[Canada is looking to ramp up oil shipments to China and other countries]([link removed]) after Trump’s tariff threat, as it begins to view the United States as an increasingly unreliable trading partner. Keep it up, Donnie!
 
[Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, is getting her own Fox News]([link removed]) weekend show. With this move, Lara is perfectly positioned to become the next secretary of defense.
 
[Trump’s plan to dismantle the Department of Education would hurt states]([link removed]) that voted for him far more than blue states. Federal funds for schools in red states hovers around 17 percent, compared to the 11 percent given to those that voted against him. Business genius at work, yet again.
 
[House Democrats tried and failed to subpoena Musk today]([link removed]) about his work to dismantle the federal government. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) explained that he couldn’t make it to the vote because he had a meeting with the Mexican ambassador. Musk responded on X: “Don’t be a dick.” Good to know a literal child is running our country.
 
[The NFL will remove its “end racism” message in end zones for the Super Bowl]([link removed]), in what looks like the latest major corporation to bow down to Trump’s anti-DEI crusade. Racism is solved! Good work everyone!
 
[Billionaire bootlicker Jeff Bezos’s $10 billion philanthropic fund pulled support]([link removed]) from a major organization that sets climate standards for major corporations. It follows scrutiny over the fund’s influence over the organization, and it’s seen as yet another example of Bezos trying to please the MAGA king. 

[Remember how Trump repeatedly moaned that he had nothing to do with Project 2025]([link removed]), the Heritage Foundation’s far-right agenda? Well, his executive orders align perfectly with the policy. It’s almost like when this guy says stuff it’s very often not…true?

Trump wants to shut down USAID — the agency that handles U.S. foreign aid — while wanting to send 30,000 migrants to Guantanamo. What’s his endgame, and what does it mean for international affairs? Ben Rhodes & Tommy Vietor break it all down on this week’s [Pod Save the World]([link removed]). New episodes drop every Wednesday. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts, or watch on [YouTube]([link removed])!
 

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[A federal judge in Maryland blocked Donald Trump’s executive order]([link removed]) to end birthright citizenship, which is guaranteed under the Constitution. “No court in the country has ever endorsed the president’s interpretation,” Judge Deborah Boardman said. “This court will not be the first.” Let’s go.

[The AFL-CIO, one of the largest groups of unions, trolled Elon Musk’s DOGE]([link removed]) by launching the Department of People Who Work for a Living. It’s unclear exactly what the department will do, but AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler outlined the sentiment: “Government can work for billionaires or it can work for working people — but not both,” she said in a statement. We need more of this energy! Take note, elected Democrats!

[Greenland passed a law banning foreign contributions to political parties]([link removed]), which can be viewed as a symbolic middle finger to Trump amid his threats to take over the territory.
 

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