Trump announced on Tuesday the US could “take over” the Gaza Strip and transform it into a premier tourist destination, or the “Riviera of the Middle East” - but without Palestinians.

On social media, many debated the plan, with large swathes of people denouncing it as “ethnic cleansing”. Others immediately pointed out the US’s long history of “settler colonialism” and “imperialism”.

In the US, many liberal commentators, especially supporters of the Democratic Party, said Trump was acting precisely as they had warned ahead of presidential elections in November 2024. They blamed his Gaza takeover plan on Muslims for voting for him instead of Kamala Harris.

Voters in Michigan’s Dearborn, the largest majority Arab-American city in the United States, overwhelmingly supported Trump in a clear protest against the Biden administration’s handling of Israel’s war on Gaza.

In reality, Trump won every swing state in the US election, and had he lost Michigan, Harris still would not have come close to competing in the electoral college.