Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.) said President Trump’s Gaza proposal is “deeply disrespectful” and “unserious.”
“I thought it was an unserious proposal,” Shapiro told sports media personality Stephen A. Smith on his show, in a clip highlighted by Mediaite. “I thought it was a proposal that if he actually carried it out the way he said he was, violates international law.”
“I thought it was deeply disrespectful to the Palestinian people,” he added.
Last week, the idea of the U.S. taking over Gaza was floated by the president during a joint press conference featuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I think you’ll make that into an international, unbelievable place… I don’t want to be cute, I don’t want to be a wise guy, but the Riviera of the Middle East… this could be so magnificent,” Trump said.
Trump also previously said that Palestinians located in Gaza could be moved and settled elsewhere, and that they should not desire to go back to the territory.
“I’m someone who believes that there should be a two-state [solution],” Shapiro said. “I want the Palestinians to have a state that they can call their own, I want them to live peacefully side-by-side with Israel. I think what Donald Trump did was make that harder, and again, I thought it was really unserious and unhelpful.”
A few days after his comments at the press conference, Trump returned to the topic of Gaza on his Truth Social platform.
“The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting. The Palestinians, people like Chuck Schumer, would have already been resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities, with new and modern homes, in the region,” Trump said.
“They would actually have a chance to be happy, safe, and free. The U.S., working with great development teams from all over the World, would slowly and carefully begin the construction of what would become one of the greatest and most spectacular developments of its kind on Earth,” the president added.
The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
