After President Donald Trump announced that America ‘will take over the Gaza strip,’ Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., pushed back against the idea, suggesting that the move would betray the ‘America First’ principle Trump voters expected.
During his inauguration speech last month, Trump unequivocally declared that throughout his administration he will ‘put America first,’ echoing a longstanding pillar of his political philosophy, which he also expressed during his 2017 inaugural address.
But Paul is throwing a red flag in response to Trump’s newly unveiled Gaza plans.
‘The pursuit for peace should be that of the Israelis and the Palestinians. I thought we voted for America First. We have no business contemplating yet another occupation to doom our treasure and spill our soldiers blood,’ Paul declared in a Wednesday post on X.
The senator made the comment in response to a post in which Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared on Tuesday, ‘Gaza MUST BE FREE from Hamas. 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.’
While delivering remarks alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhyahu on Tuesday, Trump said that Palestinians should be settled outside the Gaza Strip, and that the U.S. will transform the region, which he described as a ‘demolition site.’
‘The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip,’ Trump declared, saying, ‘we’ll own it, and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site … level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.’
‘I do see a long term ownership position,’ Trump said of the region.
