When Hurricane Trump first descended upon D.C. in 2017, people still weren’t sure what to make of the orange-hued, thin-skinned president. His entire candidacy was so utterly absurd — so ridiculously improbable — that when he actually won, we sought a simple explanation: “Maybe Steve Bannon was the genius behind the scenes and Trump was his puppet!”
That was a popular theory for a little while. Remember? Democrats called Bannon Trump’s “puppet master.” Time Magazine called him “The Great Manipulator.”
But after Trump kicked “Sloppy Steve” to the curb in 2018, that theory was discredited: With or without Bannon, Trump was still Trump. Love him or hate him, he’s consistently, exactly, 100% himself.
Clearly, “Sloppy Steve” wasn’t the puppeteer.
If anything, the opposite was true: The more we watch Trump, the more we understand that he’s not capable of allowing any third party to control him. His personality, instincts, and unflappable self-confidence make it absolutely impossible for anyone else to be pulling the strings.
What you see is what you get.
And that’s good because if any other U.S. president had announced an American takeover of the Gaza Strip, all hell would’ve broken loose. It would’ve been a PR disaster.
If Biden or Obama had made that announcement? Hoo boy! The GOP would’ve risen in unanimous opposition. Right now, Trump is the beneficiary of enormous reservoirs of goodwill; it gives him extra latitude in dealmaking, and his rapid-fire, kinetic whirlwind of effort and activity contrasts beautifully with the withering corpse of President Biden: Say what you want, but at least Trump is trying SOMETHING.
But reservoirs of goodwill don’t last forever. And you’re not going to convince the American people that the key to Making America Great Again is to build casinos in the Gaza Strip. It’s just not going to happen.
Interestingly, Trump’s Gaza proposal seems lifted from a 20-year-old Dennis Miller routine (warning: NSFW language). Start watching at the 3:00 mark:
What can we do to placate the Palestinians? How can we ameliorate the situation over there? Is there a historical precedent for a group of people who feel they have been robbed of their land by a Johnny-Come-Lately? In the strictest, Swiftian sense of the word I have a ‘Modest Proposal.’ I’m not saying it’ll work, but nothing else seems to have worked: I say that we give the Palestinians the casinos. [APPLAUSE] They’re already prenamed: The Sands, The Dunes, The Desert Inn…
What Trump is proposing will never see the light of day. It’s a nonstarter: American troops getting shot, kidnapped, and abducted in Gaza — or spending billions to rebuild downtown Gaza when Los Angeles is on fire, North Carolinians are still without power, and major U.S. cities have been reduced to generational cesspools of despair, crime, and poverty — simply isn’t a viable political position.
If Biden had proposed this deal after meeting one-on-one with Netanyahu, we’d be wondering if the Israeli prime minister was taking advantage of a senile old man. (“Elder abuse!”) After all, it would sound like Biden got rolled.
Unless Trump’s master plan is relocating the Gazans to Greenland, it’s hard to see how the pieces fit.
Trump’s theory, perhaps, is that the status quo is unworkable; therefore, the smartest strategy is to kick over the table and change the status quo. And in some ways, he’s not wrong: Peace in the Middle East will not be achieved without dramatically upsetting the apple cart.
But there’s also a chance that peace in the Middle East isn’t in the cards right now. And peace won’t be possible until the Palestinians love their children more than they hate Jews, which, sadly, will probably take multiple generations. War and peace are a lot like marriage: It’s not something you can decide all on your own. The other party can — and will — make that decision for you.
If Hamas wants war, Israel is at war. If your spouse wants a divorce, you’re probably getting a divorce. It’s that simple.
The PR benefit of Trump’s announcement is that it positions his administration as bold, creative problem-solvers. Plus, it certainly altered the status quo, tossing the old Middle East talking points out the window. Just as importantly, Trump communicated something important to the Palestinian people: Your land — and your future — have value. And together, we can build a beautiful tomorrow.
That’s all very nice, but it’s not enough to offset the PR liabilities. Trump either needs to clarify his policy or reboot his proposal because the political consequences are unfavorable.
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