Trump Doubles Down on Gaza
49:03 Share

This

It's Wednesday, February 5th, right now on CNN This Morning. The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip. Owning Gaza? President Trump's proposal for creating a new Riviera. He's not ruling out the use of U.S. troops to do it. Plus...

How is this making our country safer? Sounding the alarm, concern for national security growing after buyout offers are sent to the entire CIA workforce, as the FBI provides names of thousands of agents who worked on January 6th cases. And this: We have not weeks, but we have days to stop the destruction of our democracy.

Democrats versus Doge, dozens of lawmakers pushing back against Elon Musk's role in the White House. Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell will be here to discuss. And later... This is an attack on our education system. Dismantling the education department, the president now preparing an executive order to begin the process of shutting it down.

6 a.m. here on the East Coast. This is a live look at Rafa in southern Gaza, where, of course, many Palestinians who had been there just now being allowed in the last few weeks to return to their homes in northern Gaza. Good morning, everyone. I'm Casey Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.

It's a head spinning morning. Two weeks and two days after taking office, President Donald Trump almost casually upending decades of American diplomacy in the Middle East.

The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too. 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, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.

watching the Prime Minister, Bibi Netanyahu's face during that is something worth doing.

The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, Trump said. This would be a monumental, is a monumental shift in U.S. foreign policy. A reminder, there are nearly 2 million Palestinians who live in Gaza. Since the beginning of the war, much of their home has been absolutely devastated. More than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed. And only since Trump took office with a ceasefire deal in place have Palestinians been able to return to their homes in northern Gaza.

This proposal would seemingly have them all leave. In remarks earlier in the day, President Trump repeated his desire to see Palestinians resettled outside of Gaza. And when he was asked about it, Trump left open the possibility that he will deploy U.S. troops to secure the land. We'll do what is necessary. If it's necessary, we'll do that. We're going to take over that piece and we're going to develop it. I do see a long-term...

ownership position. We have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal. And 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. No surprise, the president's words were swiftly rejected by Hamas, which governs Gaza. A spokesperson saying, quote, our people in the Gaza Strip will not allow these plans to pass.

So, how are the president's allies on the Hill responding? Here was Lindsey Graham: "An interesting proposal," he says, but "It might be problematic." Tom Tillis: "There are probably a couple of kinks in that slinky." John Cornyn simply saying: "Check back with me tomorrow."

As for Democrats, well, Senator Chris Coons' reaction seemed to sum it up. You see him here burying his face in his hands. Moment captured by NBC. Coons telling reporters this. You can report that I was speechless. I'm speechless. That's insane.

I'm speechless. That's insane. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood, as we pointed out, alongside the president, and he was smiling as President Trump first laid out his ideas. Then Netanyahu said this. I've seen you do this many times. You cut to the chase. You see things others refuse to see. You say things others refuse to say. And after the jaws drop, people scratch their heads, and they say, you know, he's right.

my panel is here mark preston cnn senior political analyst elliott williams cnn legal analyst former federal prosecutor karen finney cnn political commentator former senior advisor to hillary clinton's 16 presidential campaign and kristen soltis anderson cnn political analyst republican strategist and pollster

Welcome to all of you. I couldn't even figure out what day it was just a couple of minutes ago because all of this is just unfolding so incredibly quickly. Mark Preston, I want to just, like, let's try to big picture this to the extent that we can. I mean, we tried to state exactly how enormous this potential policy shift was.

would be. The question that I think a lot of people across the world are now asking is, is this real? Is this one of these situations where Donald Trump is saying something to set out a negotiating position like he does with tariffs? Does it amount to basically a threat that he will not follow through on?

or does it amount to something that he is actually going to do? I think you're all misinterpreting what he said here, okay? Because what he sees is investment, right? He sees timeshares. He sees casinos. He sees cotton candy stands. There's a lot of opportunity for investment.

At that moment when he said that, unfortunately, he meant it. Okay, now there's been some talk where it says, oh, he says these things sometimes and then we'll walk back. This is not one of those situations. This is something that he has in his head. And if anybody has any idea or know- I mean, Mark, this is what Gaza looks like right now, okay? Sorry, jump in. So I'll agree with you that-

There's that saying, when you're a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. When you're a reality television real estate developer, every problem is a resort to be built. Right.

Remember, just a couple of weeks ago, we were like, oh my God, Donald Trump's going to invade Panama. And what that turned into was Marco Rubio having a productive meeting in Panama and them withdrawing from China's Belt and Road Initiative. Look, I won't dispute that I don't think the United States should have a quote unquote ownership position in Gaza. Right.

But I do think that it's not just that Donald Trump actually intends to build a resort there. I just think this is how he talks about every problem. But this, I think that's, it's not that in this instance, because when he made the comments about Panama, it was a little more off the cuff. That was literally, he was looking at his piece of paper.

Like, that was on a piece of paper. That is a strategy. It is not surprising, considering he is a real estate magnate. He probably is thinking about the value of that real estate. And the hubris to think, oh, yeah, we'll just tell 2 million people they are going to have to move when this is literally the oldest conflict in history.

the world and it's all about where they're located. - I appreciate Mike Allen's headline in Axios which just crossed here on my iPad, "Axios AM: Trump Stuns World." - Yeah. - And that was the point by the way. - The Panama Point's a fair analogy but it's a question of degree. You're talking about an action that would destabilize an already profoundly volatile region

in the world. You can't tell me that putting one and a half million people in Syria, Egypt, Jordan, or wherever else is not-- - Jordan and Egypt specifically. - Jordan and Egypt is not going to lead to a horribly radicalized populations in each of these places. And so yes, there would have been profound

economic and political consequences to the Panama stunt were it to happen. And yes, it was a valuable negotiating tactic, but we are talking about destabilizing the Middle East here. And I think it's just easy to dismiss this stuff from Donald Trump. But it's not dismissing it. And I do think that- I'm not saying you aren't, Chris. Well, no, but the-

But there's also the element here where something like, hey, let's get tough with Panama isn't going to face as much pushback from even within his own party as the idea of putting American boots on the ground in the Middle East. And what is fascinating is Donald Trump has brought in a bunch of new voters to the Republican coalition who are 180 degrees different from the kind of Bush, Cheney type approach of nation building, America can be a force for good, building up democracies around the world. The neocons are not welcome in Trump's Republican party. Right.

All of the sudden, the idea that like, hey, we're actually back in the nation building business is, that's going to be a tough sell for a lot of Republicans. But we're not in the nation building business. We're in the wealth creation business. Yes, that's what it is. Because he wants to create a sovereign wealth fund for the United States as well. But here's the reason why I do think he does believe that Gaza can be turned into an Atlantic city from like the 1930s, right? And here's the reason why. His own son-in-law-

has said this before. And his own son-in-law is trying to cut deals all around the world. So I do think that Donald Trump does believe that Gaza, first of all, it would solve a couple of things. It would, in his mind, solve the conflict. Bibi would be happy because there wouldn't be that rough. And guess what? We would create more cities because we'd build more cities.

- Yeah, and you could definitely go stay at a hotel there and feel like there was no concern that someone angry about what had happened might, I mean the idea, sorry, Karen, go ahead. - That's okay. So I just, I keep trying to bring us back to the big picture. And to my mind, the big picture is I see how this benefits Trump and his billionaire friends.

Doesn't lower the cost of eggs. Doesn't do anything about rent, gas, groceries. And I thought that's what he campaigned on. He didn't campaign on, yeah, tariffs might bring some pain, that was his quote, to the American people. He campaigned on lowering costs. He has signed...

so many executive orders. She's throwing out these ideas. How about one executive order on, I don't know, price gouging? I mean, the egg situation has gotten so bad that there's literally a heist of $40,000 worth of eggs that we are going to talk about later on in the show, right? Like that's actually happening in America as we speak. Mark, to your point, I mean, I want to remind people too, like this is an old quote from him. This is back in 2018, but

I mean, this is not the only area of the world he thinks, you know, could could be a great resort. I mean, here's what he said about North Korea. They have great beaches. You see that whenever they're exploding their cannons into the ocean. Right. I said, boy, look at that. Wouldn't that make a great condo behind? And I explained, I said, you know, instead of doing that, you could have the best hotels in the world right there.

Again, I would go back and argue that I wouldn't make it a condo because you can make more money by making it a timeshare. I'm telling you, you could rent it out 52 weeks a year. Is that why there's so many ads that are advertising telling me how to get out of my timeshare? Because the timeshare guys are making so much money. Exactly.

People who have time shares. Because someone gets rich. Okay, well, look, in seriousness, I do want to end on, I mean, Stephen Collinson here, who paints a lot of our big pictures here at CNN. You can read his columns every day on CNN.com. Kristen, he did say this. To see an American president endorse what would be the forcible expulsion of Palestinians from their home in an exodus that would subvert decades of U.S. policies is...

International law, basic humanity was breathtaking. If the leader of the world's most powerful democracy led such a forced relocation, he would mirror crimes of past tyrants and create an excuse for every autocrat to launch mass ethnic cleansing programs against Republicans.

vulnerable minorities. Well, I think we've been making the point here and you've been making the point that this often Donald Trump blusters to try to accomplish a different goal. I think it's worth marking that an American president is doing something like that. There would be an enormous cost and there would be inevitably an enormous cost to American lives as well if something like this were actually carried out. I mean, just think about we lost American lives with this foolish,

aid peer idea over there. And that was not necessarily anything to do with an angry population fighting back against a policy that they think is unjust. And so I do think that it would be unbelievably foolish and damaging to actually pursue this. I don't think it's going to get anywhere near that point. All right. This is obviously a conversation that is going to continue. But coming up here on CNN This Morning,

Fighting back, Democrats trying to take on Elon Musk. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell joins me live to discuss what the world's wealthiest man is doing inside the federal government. Plus, the CIA's entire workforce offered buyout packages. What does that mean for national security? And President Trump in the beginning stages of shutting down the Department of Education. How's that for a series of teases? I told Linda, Linda,

I hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job. I want her to put herself out of a job.

I'm CNN tech reporter Claire Duffy. This week on the podcast Terms of Service, we'll hear from a high school senior who gave up her smartphone altogether. People will ask me like, oh, why do you have a flip phone? Everyone thinks it's a punishment. They're like, are you grounded? And I'm like, no, I actually chose this for myself. What are the challenges of committing to a pledge like this? And is it worth it? Follow CNN's Terms of Service wherever you get your podcasts.

Either the deep state destroys America or we destroy the deep state. On the campaign trail, President Trump often aired grievances that he has with the so-called deep state, frequently claiming that CIA agents and officers were part of an effort to undermine him. Now that agency seems to be the next in line for deep cuts. On Tuesday, the CIA became the first major national security agency to offer buyouts to

to its entire workforce. A source tells CNN that newly appointed director John Ratcliffe personally decided to involve his agency in the deferred resignation program. As the offer rolls out at the CIA, FBI employees are suing over an impending purge after FBI officials turned over information about who worked on investigations related to January 6th.

The information includes details of more than 5,000 Bureau employees, but not their names. And now a group of employees are suing the Justice Department, accusing the DOJ of violating privacy laws. A judge agreeing to keep their identities sealed over fear of retribution.

Whether it's counterterrorism, great power competition, you name it from head to toe, those two organizations are what protect America along with the Department of Defense. Eroding the workforce or really getting after the morale and really empowerment of the workforce is going to have a direct impact on national security at every level.

So, Mark Preston, I think that there is some willingness from American voters to take a look at the federal government generally and say, "Hey, perhaps we can do more with less. Perhaps we're spending too much. The bureaucracy is bloated."

But I'm thinking about like the Moscow station chief of the CIA getting an email saying you can take a buyout. I mean, it seems like this is considerably different than some of those other potential options. I mean, what is the impact? Yeah, because it's different because that Moscow bureau chief has probably been in the service for 25 years and has probably spent months

most of his or her life overseas, probably in Russia or in the vicinity, so has that capabilities. You know, it's interesting that you bring this up. I remember a few years back where there was concern that the United States had lost the ability now to understand what was going on and what was the Eastern Bloc, which is now Russia and what have you.

because the focus had been done so much on terrorism that there hadn't been enough boots on the ground and a focus on what was happening in Russia and what was happening in China. Now you're talking about even further depleting the force that we have currently out there. We should be out there trying to get people to come into the CIA, to get people to come into the FBI, especially at this time. Yeah, it just makes us less safe.

bottom line. I mean, I think that's, you know, for a lot of Americans, they're probably seeing these headlines and saying, oh, well, good. He's going in there and shaking things up. But I do think we have to bring it back to, but it makes you less safe. And God forbid, some of our, you know, people in the CIA with the experience, the expertise, the insight, like, think about it

if the folks at the NTSB would have taken the buyout the week before the crash that we just had in DC, who would have been doing the investigation? - And let's think for a second. Yeah, no, sorry, finish. - Just one last thing. The other point I would make too is some of those individuals from time to time, you will find them in USAID projects.

That's the other reason why getting rid of you. If you've ever watched a spy show and having been on many of those trips where I was told just they're coming with us to this site. Okay, fine. There they are. So point being, it makes us less safe. It's stupid. There's one way to do this that would have been smart that probably would have also saved us money but kept us safe.

and not created so much chaos and pain, but the chaos and the pain is part of the point. - Well, and when you think about, and anyone who has watched a spy show, if you understand anything about how it works, Elliot, is that it is a question of building relationships, right? So if you are a CIA operation, if you're a directorate of operations,

you know, not paramilitary necessarily, but, you know, someone whose job it is to have cover at USAID or at the State Department, you are building relationships with assets in the country that you are then using to get information to protect Americans at home from things like another 9-11, right? Yep.

And somebody taking that buyout does material damage in that that suddenly, it's not just the expertise and the things in their head, it's the little relationships that they have to gather information. Absolutely. And having not just watched spy shows, but worked very closely with the FBI, which is a counter-terror organization, people are getting wrapped up in this idea of,

woke stuff at Donald Trump's house. No, the FBI is the only law enforcement entity that is both a counter-terror and a law enforcement body, right? And these are folks that are spending their careers across presidential administrations, building these relationships overseas to keep Americans safe. When you begin trying to root out this perceived political bias, you're not just making Americans safe, you're actually jeopardizing the free speech rights of those people that work there. They are, you are

punishing them for this perceived bias that doesn't exist. It's an overwhelmingly right-leaning workforce. And I know this having worked there. So this idea, these things all sound great on bumper stickers and talking points, but they're just not real and are going to make Americans less safe. And I do wonder too, with something like the CIA, there are plenty of other departments in the government where if you ask people,

do we have too many people working there? People might say, yes, that can be right-sized or whatever corporate layout speak you want to use. But I think for something like the CIA, you then, if you're going to let go a lot of people, you need to have a clear plan for how you're going to recruit new people in to build those relationships. You've seen Pete Hegseth at the Department of Justice

of Defense making a big deal over the last 48 hours about, look, here's our new ad campaign to recruit people to the army. We're going to get people in. Haven't necessarily heard anything like that about, say, the FBI or the CIA. And I think that's where you start going, well, wait a minute. Is the plan just to eliminate these people? Or is it to replace them with a new cap? What does that even look like? Yeah, really, really quick.

Just to get the background checks for people, to get them up to speed to be able to do the job, to number one, find people who you can get the requisite clearances to be able to handle this type of sensitive work and get them hired and get them screened can be months. And so the idea that you're just going to start firing people and bringing some set of folks on is incredibly difficult. And people don't really have that in their heads. Yeah.

Okay, another fiery conversation straight ahead here on CNN This Morning. Let's talk about the weather. Okay, we'll take a break. Heavy rain, flooding, and mudslides. California is being inundated with water and it is leading to dangerous conditions. Plus, a puzzling proposal. I will ask Congresswoman Debbie Dingell about President Trump's plan to take over Gaza. Puzzling, an understatement.

All right, welcome back. A number of road closures in place across parts of California after heavy rain caused landslides and created scenes like this one in the Bay Area. Yikes. A landslide sweeping a house clean into the Russian River in Sonoma County. Let's get to our meteorologist, Allison Chinchar. Allison, this news is a little bit grim, but I do want to wish you a happy National Weather Person's Day because we do, no matter what, appreciate you. Mm-hmm.

Thank you. Yes, I only get to wear this sweater twice a year today and then for Cloud Appreciation Day, obviously. I think that's the last time we had it on the show. Yeah. Yes, it is. Yes, it is. Yes. So let's take a look.

let's take a look at the forecast. Thank you so much. But yes, we are going to expect even more rain pushing into California as we go through the rest of the day today and then another system moves in as we finish out the rest of the week. So you've got some light showers right now across portions of southern and central California that should slowly get a little bit of a break before the next system begins to move in and that really pushes into northern and central California as we head into early thursday and then again even another round once we go into friday

On the other half of the country, the main concern here is going to be winter weather. You're looking at the potential for some snow, but really ice is going to be the biggest concern. You even got some ice storm warnings in effect in addition to all of the winter weather advisories. On the south side where it's warm, it's just going to be rain. But you are looking at a lot of that ice to stretch from Chicago, Cleveland, over to Washington, D.C., and to portions of Pennsylvania and New York as well.

and then farther north. The really concern is just going to be snow for areas of Minnesota, Wisconsin and much of Michigan as this system really starts to slide over as we go through the day thursday. But most of it should be wrapped up by the time the morning commute begins on friday. Here's a look at a lot of those ice totals again. You can see this light pink color. You're looking at about a 10th of an inch, maybe up to even a quarter of an inch in some spots. So please be careful, especially tomorrow out on those roads because it could be very, very slick.

All right. Good morning, Alison Chinchar. Thank you very much. And again, happy National Weather Person's Day. I hope you get a chance to celebrate. Thank you very much. All right. After the break here on CNN this morning, the price of eggs soaring at one of America's most loved diners. Why Waffle House is adding a surcharge to the popular breakfast staple. Plus, a historic moment in American foreign policy. President Trump pitches a plan for the U.S. to own Gaza.

Congresswoman Debbie Dingell joins us next with her thoughts. He wants to be transparent with the Palestinian people. Gaza today is uninhabitable and will probably be uninhabitable for at least the next 10 to 15 years.

This week on The Assignment with me, Adi Cornish. The truth is that many of us warned about this. Reverend Gabriel Salguero, pastor of The Gathering Place in Orlando, Florida. What are the kinds of messages you have been getting? I got a call from somebody saying that they're not going to go to church because they're afraid. Many pastors are concerned that it will impinge on our religious liberty to serve immigrant communities and mixed status communities. What does it feel like to be on the front lines of the immigration debate?

Listen to The Assignment with me, Audie Cornish, streaming now on your favorite podcast app. The Muslim and Arab voters in Michigan and across the country want a stop to the endless wars and a return to peace in the Middle East. That's all they want. As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump outwardly courted Michigan's key Arab-American voting bloc with promises of peace in the Middle East.

His appeals seem to have worked. Trump won the Arab-American stronghold of Dearborn, Michigan, and the entire state with the help of Arab supporters who had thoughts like this at the ballot box. I feel like he's given us hope. I feel like, you know, all his talking points throughout his campaign about peace and prosperity for everyone and the ability to resolve conflicts.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu credited Trump yesterday for pushing forward the long-awaited ceasefire deal. Trump, however, now proposing a plan for Gaza that went unmentioned during his Michigan rallies.

The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too. 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, level it out, create an economic development that will supply

unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area. This was not a decision made lightly. Everybody I've spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land. Joining me now is Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell of Michigan. Congresswoman, good morning.

Many of these people are your constituents. This is a group of people that you spent so much time talking to in the election. And now Donald Trump is proposing that the U.S. take over the Gaza Strip. Is this something that's real that he is proposing? And what has the reaction been from your communities?

I'm going to divide that into two parts. I think President Trump's trying to create chaos everywhere, put it all up in the air. Some of it's going to settle, some of it's going to be real, some of it's not going to be real.

Obviously, the Prime Minister, Winslow, was very happy and he pleased the conservative members of his party in Israel. But the communities are not happy. There are two million people that live in Gaza. You've heard Republican senators react pretty strongly about it. I've had some pretty good lines.

And the countries surrounding the area, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, are not happy about the idea either. I think, you know, I've talked to so many people for the last 10 days about so many things, but I've talked to many people that come from that area. I don't represent Dearborn anymore, but did live there for 30 years, but have many other members that are part of it. You know, their piece of them is, why is everybody coming here?

And asking us this question, would you ask white women that same question about what he's doing to them? So they're feeling a little picked on. Some are feeling betrayed. They're worried that the Muslim ban could be coming back. I just think people are trying to make sense of what it all means now. I think it's a very difficult, challenging proposal that he has. And I don't know that there's a lot of global support.

or Republican support within his own caucus, let alone people like us. - So one of the things that you have, of course, always are doing in the course of your job is meeting with your own constituents, and you've brought back so much fascinating information over the course of the last two election cycles about how Donald Trump was impacting people, his chances for winning a state like Michigan. You were home recently talking to groups of people in your district.

It has been difficult to get your head around the avalanche of news coming out of these first couple of weeks. What of what Trump is doing is actually breaking through with voters?

Well, I think the first thing that absolutely broke through with voters was when he froze funds out of the Office of Management and Budget. And last week we saw Head Start programs being impacted, Meals on Wheels sending notes across the country, your programs are frozen. Daycare programs, senior care programs, programs are the heart and souls of communities that matter, don't enter total panic.

I met with researchers who have drug trials for cancer, were fired. One person was a scientist, was fired because her trial description was to be reflective of the population, including minority populations. Minority populations got her fired because that was DEI. Yesterday, someone who works at the

I don't even want to say which one it is, a veteran's hospital. Not sure if he's going to be fired. He came with a group of veterans. They're like, you cannot let this person be fired. I mean, people really don't know what it means and are scared about what their future is.

You also apparently, you met, if you don't mind my mentioning that you met with FBI agents in your area. I have. What are they saying to you right now? They're quite frankly stunned. These are professional men and women whose job it is to keep us safe on so many fronts. And, you know, we need to support our law enforcement. This is our security.

And these agents like liberals, Democrats? I don't think they're anything. I think most of these FBI agents are apolitical. They do their job. They do what their job is supposed to do. By the way, the FBI agents that I met with were not anybody who worked on February 6th.

- January 6th, yeah. - I'm sorry, it was February. January 6th, which we do know they're very upset for their colleagues who have been targeted, the lists that are being accumulated. They're seeing the politicization of the FBI. That's not what they signed up for. Half of them are like, "We're scared. "We just, should we leave?" And the other half is, "We gotta fight for this agency "and for this country."

There are a lot of people that I've been speaking to who oppose Donald Trump, who feel like Democrats in Washington are missing in action. Are they? Well, I'll tell you, I have become... I've said to all my colleagues, people want to see Democrats have backbones. I did tell you the word I was using, and balls.

I think we've got to be smart. I think Donald Trump is causing chaos and getting people's heads to spin in so many ways. You don't know what to focus on. And if you do everything, nothing gets accomplished. We have to

Talk about the ones that are making the most impact. When he froze the budget last Tuesday, I don't think he knew what was happening. I don't think he knew the number of programs and the number of everyday Americans that were being cut. He isn't doing anything just for the record about lowering grocery prices. Those who know me know I go to the grocery store every Sunday morning for many reasons. It's a mini town hall and also a grocery shop.

Eggs at my grocery store, Kroger, sorry, Kroger, were $7.50 on Sunday. For a dozen eggs. For a dozen eggs.

I didn't buy eggs on Sunday. I mean, we got to do something. What is he doing directly to help lower those grocery prices and not just cause chaos? Yeah. And just for some from context back in 2019, of course, pre-pandemic, I mean, eggs less than around two dollars a dozen. Right. That's where we are. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, always grateful to have you on the show. Thank you so much for being here.

All right, coming up next here on CNN This Morning, in his quest to shrink government spending, President Trump's latest target, the Department of Education, what closing it would mean for students.

A better life is not necessarily tied to the physical space that you're in today. A better life is about a better opportunity, better financial conditions, better aspirations for you and your family. That doesn't occur because you get to pitch a tent in the Gaza Strip and you're surrounded by 30,000 munitions that could go off at any moment.

That was President Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, supporting his boss's shocking proposal for the Gaza Strip. The president suggesting the U.S. would take over the territory.

Mr. President, given what you've said about Gaza, did the U.S. send troops to help secure the security vacuum? As far as Gaza is concerned, we'll do what is necessary. If it's necessary, we'll do that. We're going to take over that piece and we're going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs.

Trump's pitch, turn the land into the Riviera of the Middle East. That would require, though, displacing nearly two million Palestinians. A Hamas official, remember they govern Gaza, calling it, quote, a recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region. Trump's Middle East special envoy now doubling down on the idea.

It's a dangerous place to live today and the president is saying let's make it better for these people. Let's give them more hope and if there are different places for them to live let them let them let them make that choice and I think he's right.

Joining me now is Dan Senor. He's the host of the Call Me Back podcast, former foreign policy advisor to the Romney campaign. And of course, for anyone who doesn't know, clearly very involved, often speaking to many of the principals who are involved in all these negotiations. Dan, thank you so much for being on the show. Hey, Casey. Good to be with you. Dan, can you just help me understand what we saw at the White House last night, the president putting this out there and whether or not this is something that he's actually really going to try to do?

Look, I think that Israel has tried both in southern Lebanon and Gaza and the West Bank over the last number of decades to experiment with different approaches with getting out of these territories and letting local authorities effectively govern them. Right. So in the 1990s, Israel gradually withdrew from the West Bank. Obviously, it still has a security presence there, but it handed over governance

to most of the West Bank, to what has become the Palestinian Authority. In May of 2000, Israel unilaterally withdrew from southern Lebanon. Hezbollah, gradually as we know, as we've seen tragically in recent years, took over. And in 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza, hoping that the Palestinian Authority would be able to govern there. In each of those three places, Casey, Israel has effectively had to go back in, right? Israeli soldiers are dying.

in all of those areas Israel has withdrawn from. We've seen what's happened in Lebanon in recent years. We've seen what's happened in the West Bank. Even at this moment, there is really operations in parts of the northern West Bank. And obviously, we saw October 7th in Gaza and what has followed. We are on a path right now in Gaza

to just rinse and repeat to the same old scenario, which is to say left to everyone's own devices, left on the trajectory that things are now on. Hamas is, as Israel has during the ceasefire, has been pulling back. Hamas is going to try and reassert control. The international community is going to help rebuild Gaza with Hamas there.

So tell me exactly how that looks any different from what Israel and the Palestinian people got between 2005 when Israel withdrew and October 7th of 2023. We're on a similar trajectory. There are two options. Let that happen or have Israel reoccupy Gaza. Now, nobody wants Israel to reoccupy Gaza, including the majority of Israelis. So I think what President Trump is doing is throwing out other ideas. Do I think everybody

every detail of what he laid out last night is going to be what we actually see. Who knows? What he is saying is, guys,

I think he said to this effect with exact words, we keep trying to do the same thing over and over and we keep failing. So let's try something different. And part of that is putting pressure on these Arab countries. Egypt's government, the Sisi government, operates like it's doing Israel and the U.S. a favor simply by just maintaining the terms of the Israel-Egypt Camp David Treaty, the 1979-1980 treaty, and that it's Israel's problem to deal with security in Gaza. Jordan has really not...

done much. The Sunni Gulf states, while they've talked about the need for Gaza to be rebuilt, they have no real plan that doesn't involve Hamas still being in power. So I think the president is saying, guys, we got to come up with alternatives because we're not going to just keep doing the same thing over and over.

So is this just a tactic to scare those players to basically say, OK, you don't do anything about it, then I'm coming in with my American boots and I'm going to do something about it? Because I do. Sorry, answer that. Yeah. No, go ahead. Please. OK, no. So the answer is I don't know. I think.

at a minimum if the president is putting everyone in the region on notice that we're not just going to keep doing the same thing over and over and hope for a different outcome those days are over so i think part of it is just putting pressure on everyone and i think it's already working first of all second of all do i think the president i mean i've heard people around him you know jared kushner over in the last number of years and he said he i'm not just

Jared Kushner has said these things publicly, particularly when he was working on the Abraham Accords and other projects, that it is a shame, it's tragic, that this territory, sitting there on the Mediterranean, I've been to Gaza, I was struck by it when I was there. I spent time in the Jabali refugee camp, and you sit there thinking, how has this place been left to rot by the local quote-unquote authorities when it could have been developed into something much...

much more hopeful for the Palestinian people. So I think the president is actually, as he often does, is imagining a pretty ambitious vision for what Gaza could be.

So at a minimum, you get everyone thinking and you're putting pressure on everyone in the region to start thinking differently. More likely, he's thinking this could be something that could be a tremendous asset to the region and to the United States. But in order to do any of it, it's going to take years and years of work. And the reality is there's two and a half plus million Palestinians living there. If you really want to rebuild this place and you really want to turn it around, it's going to require money.

a ton of work and a long time, and it's not going to be doable while all these, while this entire population is there. I'll add one other thing, Casey, which I think is important. I do think this helps Prime Minister Netanyahu hold his government together

as these negotiations proceed to the second phase of the ceasefire. One question many in Netanyahu's government have been asking is, okay, we've sort of made peace with the first phase, but don't tell us, you know, we're moving to the second phase of a ceasefire because the second phase of a ceasefire is just going to land us with

Israel out of Gaza and Hamas replacing it, and that's unacceptable. And again, the president is not just putting pressure on Arab countries in the region. I also think he's creating a structure where the hard right in Israel and Netanyahu's own coalition government can continue to participate with the Israeli leadership in the implementation of the ceasefire, which could result, please God, in bringing home more of these hostages. So I know...

It feels a little bit like science fiction, what we all watched last night, and I understand your reaction. But I think there's...

this has the potential to shake things up on a number of fronts that is potentially quite positive. Yeah, it's interesting to me that we've heard from some Arab diplomats at CNN who have suggested, well, this could upend ceasefire negotiations. But what you're saying is actually the opposite, which is interesting. I mean, Dan, I think that the one thing I do also keep coming back to that I'm interested to know your perspective on is this idea of American troops

in Gaza. I mean, you noted, you know, Israel doesn't want to occupy Gaza long term. Israelis are not supportive of that. But President Trump ran on getting Americans out of the Middle East. And in fact, there's reports this morning and other news organizations that they're making a plan to pull American boots out of Syria, where they've been fighting ISIS. And there's only 2,000 of them, right? Yeah. Is it realistic that there would be American troops on the ground in Gaza from a political perspective here in the U.S.?

I have long believed that the best position for the US Israel relationship the bilateral relationship the best position for Israel and the best relationship for the United States is let Israel fight its Wars let Israel protect itself let Israeli men and women in uniform do the fighting

the U.S. it's in the U.S.'s interest to get Israel the tools it needs for Israel to fight its wars but American military personnel should not be deployed uh in any capacity and that relates to what happens in Gaza it relates to what happens with Iran every everything I just said that formula applies to vir Israel's almost every front in the seven front war that Israel is in so

i it's that part is let's just say quite hazy to me uh in terms of deploying u.s troops i'm again the president wasn't very specific last night i it based on what i heard it doesn't sound uh like something that would be very viable for all the reasons you're saying and others i'm not sure israel would want u.s troops

on its border and Israel, it gets really complicated for Israel having to coordinate with US forces every time Israel wants to take action. So we're a long way from here to there. I think the important point from last night is

President put the region on notice. We're not just going to keep doing the same thing over and over. So if you guys don't like my plan, you better start getting creative. President Sisi in Egypt, King Abdullah in Jordan, the Sunni Gulf leaders, because we're just not going to rebuild Gaza with Hamas back in charge and try to hope and pray and cross our fingers that we're not going to get the same thing we got between 2005 and October 7th, 2023.

All right. Dan Senor, fascinating conversation. Thank you very much for joining us. Come back again. Thanks, Casey. See you soon. Great. All right. We've got 30 seconds left. Preston, big picture reaction there? Illuminating conversation. You know, and maybe, look, maybe it comes down to Saudi Arabia comes in and they're the ones who put all the money in and they're the ones who developed the land. For us to go over, it's very imperialistic for the United States to go over and try to take over Gaza.

Yeah, I think that President Trump feels like in his first term he did a lot of good things in the Middle East. I'm going to move the American embassy to Jerusalem. We've got the Abraham Accords. I think he feels like he's got credibility in the region to do things that are extremely outside the box, which I think is why you saw what happened yesterday. Yeah, all right. Thank you all for being with us this morning. Really appreciate it. It's a very, very busy news day. It's going to be another one coming at you. Thank you at home for joining us as well. I'm Casey Hunt. Don't go anywhere. CNN News Central starts right now.

I'm back with a vengeance. After a decade of history, exes Christina Haack and Tarek El Moussa finally face off. The flip-off is a house-flipping competition. There's so much at stake. It's the ultimate design showdown like no other. This is war. Things are definitely going to get heated. If I lose to my ex-wife... Bring it on. I'm back with a vengeance. The Flip-Off, all new Wednesday night at 8 on HGTV. Stream next day on Maxx.