Secretary of State Marco Rubio has offered his thoughts on President Trump’s comments that he wants to ‘take over’ the Gaza Strip, saying the United States would “Make Gaza Beautiful Again.”
Rubio, the country’s top diplomat, offered his thoughts on the proposal in a post on social media, appearing to align with his boss on the idea.
“Gaza MUST BE FREE from Hamas,” Rubio posted to X. “As @POTUS shared today, the United States stands ready to lead and Make Gaza Beautiful Again. Our pursuit is one of lasting peace in the region for all people.”
The remarks from Rubio come a day after Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then shared in a post-meeting press conference that the U.S. would “take over” the Gaza Strip.
“The U.S. 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 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.”
Trump said that the Palestinians in Gaza may be relocated and settled elsewhere. He also said the U.S. would work to clean up and rebuild the region, which was destroyed throughout the last 15 months as a result of the Israel-Hamas war.
“I think you’ll make that into an international, unbelievable place… 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 so magnificent,” Trump said.
The remarks from Trump have sparked a hefty round of criticism from Democrats, who accused the president of attempting an “ethnic cleansing.”
“Ethnic cleansing is not a joke, especially when it emanates from the president of the United States, the most powerful person in the world, when he has the ability to perfect what he says, ethnic cleansing in Gaza is no joke, and the prime minister of Israel should be ashamed knowing the history of his people,” Rep. Al Green (D-N.Y.) said, adding that he would be introducing Articles of Impeachment over the remarks.
Some top Republicans also shared their displeasure with Trump’s idea, as Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) questioned why the U.S. would get involved.
“The pursuit for peace should be that of the Israelis and the Palestinians. I thought we voted for America First,” the senator shared. “We have no business contemplating yet another occupation to doom our treasure and spill our soldiers' blood.”