Kaitlan Collins Battles Trump After He Insists Palestinians Leave Gaza: ‘Where Do People Go in the Meantime?’

Kaitlan Collins peppered President Donald Trump with questions about his supposed plan to take over the Gaza Strip.

At a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, Trump once again said Palestinians should leave Gaza and resettle elsewhere. In doing so, he floated a new idea, claiming the U.S. “will take over” the war-torn Palestinian territory.

“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too,” he 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 and housing for the people of the area.”

Moments later, Collins asked where actual Gazans fit in all of this.

“Where exactly are you suggesting that they should go?” she asked. “And two, are you saying they should return after it’s rebuilt? And if not, who do you envision living there?”

Here is Trump’s response and the rest of the exchange:

TRUMP: I envision a world, people living there, the world’s people. I think you’ll make that into an international, unbelievable place. I think the potential in the Gaza Strip is unbelievable. And I think the entire world, representatives from all over the world will be there–

COLLINS: [INAUDIBLE] Palestinians.

TRUMP: Palestinians also. Palestinians will live there. Many people will live there. But they’ve tried the other and they’ve tried it for decades and decades and decades. It’s not gonna work. It didn’t work. It will never work. And you have to learn from history. History has, you know, you just can’t let it keep repeating itself. We have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal. And I don’t wanna be cute. I don’t wanna be a wise guy. But the Riviera of the Middle East, this could be something that could be so–

COLLINS: But where are people supposed to go in the meantime, Mr. President?

TRUMP: But more importantly than that is the people that have been absolutely destroyed that live there now can live in peace in a much better situation because they’re living in hell. And those people will now be able to live in peace. We’ll make sure that it’s done world-class. It’ll be wonderful for the people–

COLLINS: But where do you want them to go in the meantime?

TRUMP: –and I have a feeling that despite them saying no, I have a feeling that the king in Jordan and that the general president, but that the general in Egypt will open their hearts and will give us the kind of land that we need to get this done and people can live in harmony and in peace. Thank you all very much.

Presumably, Trump was trying to come up with names of Jordanian King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, but appeared unable to do so.

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