The online right condemned President Donald Trump’s proposal on Tuesday to forcibly remove Palestinians from Gaza and seize the land, expressing fear about continued military entanglements in the Middle East and abandoning America First ideals.
In a joint White House news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said “the U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip,” suggesting his administration would raze then redevelop the land as a “Riviera of the Middle East,” while resettling Gazans elsewhere, either temporarily or permanently.
The Israeli far-right praised the proposal and Republican lawmakers either declined to comment or expressed openness to hearing Trump out, according to CNN.
But Trump’s nationalistic fans were much more skeptical.
“[Expletive] off with this. This is America last,” read one top comment on a r/Conservative Reddit thread about the proposal. “Israel needs to deal with its own problems.”
“What about America First? wtf,” a self-proclaimed Catholic conservative echoed.
The outrage represents one of the first major fissures between the president and his supporters since his inauguration last month, reflecting the American right’s deep skepticism of foreign conflict after the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Trump’s criticism of overseas entanglements, particularly in the Middle East, has long been part of his appeal, but the president’s plan for Gaza stirred up unpleasant memories among conservatives.
“This is one of the dumbest [expletive] things I've ever heard,” the top comment read in a separate r/Conservative thread. “Why are we STILL rebuilding middle eastern countries while our shit at home continues to rot?”
“I am not excited about this plan,” another commenter said. “The goal was to stop wars, not start The Last War. U.S. troops do not belong in the Middle East, full stop.”
Over on Trump’s Truth Social, where his most fervent fans reside, they too were annoyed by the idea.
“Last time I looked Gaza is not America. America first is not in Gaza. He’s already empire-building. Booooooooo,” said one.
“The last thing America needs is to be involved in the Gaza situation. It is a no-win endeavor. Note that the Gazans will be moved. Who put this strange idea forward? American troops guarding Gaza?” added another.
But fans can't always readily dismiss Trump. Many right-wingers cheered the proposal as either a stroke of genius or another distraction to get liberals upset, brushing aside concerns over U.S. involvement in the region and the future of the Palestinian people.
“All for this,” one “blue state conservative” wrote. “Long-term benefit for both US and Israel.”
“Well, this is going to piss off the leftists at r/politics,” another said.
And back on Truth Social, some tried to drum up support with a new hashtag.
“#MAGAZA,” one wrote, though it isn’t quite clear what the letters in the acronym stand for.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post ‘This is America last’: MAGA vocally breaks with Trump over plan to redevelop Gaza appeared first on The Daily Dot.
from Tech https://ift.tt/cCGQ7zF
0 Comments