EXCLUSIVE: Nearly Two in Three American Voters Oppose Trump's Gaza 'Takeover' Plan
New poll shows voters overwhelmingly oppose Trump's proposal for the US to take ownership of Gaza and forcibly resettle the Palestinians who live there.
Donald Trump has floated countless outlandish ideas during his time as president, but his latest — that the US should “take over” and “own” Gaza — stands out. On Feb. 4, he proposed turning Gaza from a “demolition site” into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” as if a geopolitical crisis could be solved with a real estate makeover and the ethnic cleansing of the enclave’s entire population. Our new Data for Progress survey, shared exclusively with Zeteo, shows that US voters strongly reject the idea.
First, we asked voters if they support or oppose the US taking ownership of the Panama Canal, Greenland, Canada, and Gaza, all of which Trump has expressed interest in the US acquiring. Across the board, voters oppose the US taking ownership of these areas — with opposition to the US taking ownership of Gaza being the strongest.
Asked specifically about Trump’s Gaza comments, 64% of voters, including a majority of Democrats (85%) and Independents (63%), oppose the president’s proposal to “take over” and “own” Gaza and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East." The survey noted that Trump's plan would require forcibly resettling the roughly 1.8 million Palestinians who live in Gaza. Republicans are divided, with 46% in support and 43% opposed.
While Trump has claimed that no troops would be needed for his takeover plan, some military experts have argued that forcibly resettling Palestinians in Gaza would be met with armed resistance from Hamas, and a full takeover and reconstruction could require US military personnel. Sixty-nine percent of voters oppose the US sending troops to the Middle East to take ownership of Gaza.
These findings demonstrate the unpopularity of Trump’s stated intention for the US to illegally and/or forcibly take over various areas across the globe, especially Gaza. More broadly, it reflects a pattern of expansionist policies pushed by both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — policies that fuel instability rather than resolve conflict. A strong majority of voters are opposed to the US taking over Gaza and resettling the Palestinians who live there, and even more respondents reject the idea of the US sending troops to the Middle East to accomplish this plan.
Public opinion on this is clear: the American public rejects this unrealistic and destabilizing proposal.
Ryan O'Donnell is the deputy executive director at Data for Progress.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Zeteo.
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I got to be honest. I’m glad that the majority of the country at least has some semblance of sanity, but that suggests that *millions* of people actively support old school, might makes right, imperialism. And that’s pretty frightening.
I don’t know why people didn’t check whom they voted for BEFORE voting for him. I mean, really!