Amid a flurry of executive orders ranging from spending freezes to renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, President Donald Trump has recently released a bold new foreign policy proposal to the American public: Trump Gaza.
“What exactly is ‘Trump Gaza?’” You might be wondering.
Thankfully, we’ve received a clear, Generation Z-friendly answer in the form of a short video Trump reposted a couple of weeks ago.
Featuring opulent sports cars, stunning high-rises and Trump-themed golden statues, the Trump Gaza video reimagines the Gaza Strip as a lavish locale where Palestinians, Jews and other people from around the world get to enjoy the natural beauty and extraordinary wealth of a future Gaza. All thanks to Mr. Trump, of course.
Nonetheless, we can’t get excited too quickly; the Trump Gaza plan demands critical analysis.
First, let’s start with the obvious: What does the video tell us about how Trump Gaza might be created?
In the first part of the video, we can see the opening scene begins with a group of Palestinians walking through rubble. However, as the video progresses, the surroundings become less and less degraded; skyscrapers are built, rubble is cleared and before you know it, Gaza is transformed into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
It’s also important to listen to the lyrics here. The voice in the background can be heard singing “Donald is coming to set you free, shining the light for all to see. No more tunnels, no more fear. Trump Gaza is finally here.”
One thing that’s interesting to note about the first section of the video is that it places a high emphasis on real estate development. This makes sense: Trump already has a lot of experience in real estate. As such, we can expect Trump Gaza to be funded largely through public-private partnerships with Trump’s current businesses and perhaps with other real estate developers.
Since the entire point of building Trump Gaza is to pacify the region through the economic development associated with these public-private partnerships, the plan is also likely to be successful in bringing an end to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Multiple analyses have shown that increased economic development correlates strongly with peaceful conduct between nations. So when “Trump Gaza is finally here,” there will be no more wars in the Middle East from that point forward.
However, there is one slight issue. Multiple things can be seen in this video that seem to conflict severely with the current Palestinian religion and culture, among them women in revealing clothing, gambling, transgender belly dancers and a whole host of other things that many Palestinians may consider degenerate.
The reason many Palestinians dislike these things is — at least in part — due to Islam’s influence on their cultural and moral beliefs. And it’s not like this is a new thing, either — there has been an Islamic influence in this area for at least 1000 years now.
For obvious reasons, it’s hard to get rid of an entire religion in such a short period of time. So, is Trump Gaza doomed to fail? Can the Trumpian dreams of lewdly dressed women, gambling and transgender belly dancers be realized?
Only if Trump creates a new state religion. And the Trump Gaza video indicates he will.
Golden Trump balloons, mini golden Trump statues, a large Trump statue in the middle of a roundabout: Trump is everywhere, and he’s revered like a god.
Indeed, the deification of the “Messianic Trump” isn’t just limited to the visuals, it’s in the lyrics, too. Trump is “shining the light for all to see,” a clear reference to Matthew 4:16, which says that “the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”
Where is Gaza but the land of the shadow of death, who are the people living in darkness but the Palestinians, and who is the light but Trump?
Relax, liberals: Trump Gaza is finally here.
Kaleb Blizzard is a philosophy sophomore and opinion writer for The Battalion.
