Republican President Donald Trump was castigated for sharing an AI-generated video depicting Gaza when he hypothetically takes "ownership" of the war-torn coastal territory.
The video he shared on his Truth Social page starts with the Palestinian territory in its current state in ruins, ravaged by the Israel-Gaza war.
A floating caption that asks "What's Next?" appears on the screen, and the tragic scene transitions to children walking away from the destruction through a tunnel into the future where a gaudy Trumpian metropolis called "Trump Gaza" awaits.
What follows is a montage of AI renditions featuring SpaceX founder Elon Musk shoving hummus into his mouth by the seaside, bearded belly dancers on the beach, a child with a golden balloon resembling Trump, cabanas dotting the shoreline overlooking moored yachts at sea, Trump getting handsy with a dancer at a night club, and children dancing in a rain of cash floating down on the streets.
Another scene from the video included a towering golden statue of Trump in the middle of a busy square and a skyscraper with "Trump Gaza" signage on its facade.
An electro-dance beat accompanies the clip with a voice singing, "No more tunnels, no more fear / Trump Gaza is finally here!"
The end of the clip zooms in on a shirtless Trump sunning on the beach with a comrade who appears to be Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by his side, sipping cocktails.
Here's the video shared by journalist Aaron Rupar, who captioned it, "Complete batsh*t lunacy on the president's Truth Social account."
"Yes, he really posted this."
People were baffled by Trump's audacity in sharing the tacky AI video.
It overlooked Gaza's death and destruction to promote Trump's reconstruction proposition that could only be possible after displacing thousands of civilians from the region they've called home.
The internet was disgusted by the sick pageantry of it all.
I am so incredibly horrified by this man. It breaks my heart that the world sees him as a representation of America. I’ve always been proud to be an American. After viewing this all I feel is shame.
— earthfire1224.bsky.social (@earthfire1224.bsky.social) February 26, 2025 at 12:33 PM
I don't understand why we have such a useless Supreme Court that they can allow the president and his family to basically capitalize on the office of president to grift the entire world.
— RaceToTheBottom (@racetothebottom.bsky.social) February 26, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Satire or not, this is vile. The man is showing everyone what we who didn’t vote for him knew all along. He wants everything to be about him and he wants to be worshipped like he’s some god.
— Saint (@saint4sho.bsky.social) February 26, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Who made this? I’m nauseous just watching it—what a megalomaniacal fever dream. Every. Single. Person. Moving. This. Regime. Forward. Should. Be. Removed. And. Never. Allowed. To. Hold. Public. Office. Again. (And personally fined until the US recoups the losses they inflicted)
— Keat Collins (@dabeky.bsky.social) February 26, 2025 at 5:44 AM
What the crap? He’s a literal despot.
— Mika-G 🏳️🌈🇦🇺 🩷🤍💜🖤💙 (@mika-g.bsky.social) February 26, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Meanwhile, others raised eyebrows over the brief sequence showing the bearded belly dancers.
trump's gaza includes women with beards??? thats so woke of him (0:15)
— Layla (@themlemsystem.bsky.social) February 26, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Earlier this month, Trump appeared alongside the Israeli Prime Minister for a news conference at the White House. Trump expressed wanting a "long-term ownership position" regarding the U.S. presence in Gaza.
He also suggested the roughly 1.8 million people be relocated, presumably by U.S. military force, to nearby countries with “humanitarian hearts” and “great wealth," and have the U.S. claim the area and transform it into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
Trump proclaimed that “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too."
The former New York real-estate magnate continued:
“We’ll make sure that it’s done world-class. It’ll be wonderful for the people — Palestinians, Palestinians mostly, we’re talking about.”
"We'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site, and get rid of the destroyed buildings."
He also stated the U.S. takeover would "supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area," but warned, "If you go back, it's going to end up the same way it has for 100 years."
Here's a clip from the February 4, 2025 news conference.
"We have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal. I don't want to be cute, I don't want to be a wise guy, but the Riviera of the Middle East, this could be something that could be so magnificent," added Trump.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's office rejected the notion that the U.S. could "take over" the region.
According to a statement translated by the AFP news agency obtained by the BBC, Abbas asserted that "legitimate Palestinian rights are not negotiable," and added that Gaza was "an integral part of the State of Palestine."
It is unclear where the AI video of Trump's Gaza came from or who created it.
