Critics Blast Trump’s AI Video Of Gaza Including A ‘Trump Gaza’ Hotel & Gold Statue Of Himself

by Angie SchlagerMarch 2, 2025, 8:11 pmNews >

This week, President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video to Truth Social, displaying an imagined future version of Gaza with a giant golden statue of Trump, money raining from the sky, Elon Musk being showered in cash and a “Trump Gaza” hotel. The posts quickly drew disapproval from social users, including self-described Republicans.

The video juxtaposes scenes of what modern-day Gaza looks like following nearly a year-and-a-half of war. It shows destroyed buildings and rubble, then a transformed modern city that resembles Dubai with a beach resort and skyscrapers.

Trump previously suggested earlier this month that the U.S. should take control of Gaza and rebuild it, displacing Palestinian residents. Trump said then that the U.S. could relocate Palestinians to other countries and “level the site” to create a “Riviera of the Middle East.”

Gazans who viewed the video expressed anger.

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“We won’t be lured by a few statues and money; leave us alone and let us rebuild our homes by ourselves,” one resident told NPR.

“This video and its degrading content reflect the deeply rooted racist colonial mindset that seeks to distort reality and justify the occupation’s crimes,” Ismail Al-Thawabtah, director-general of Gaza’s Hamas-run Government Media Office, told CNN.

Faye Nemer, CEO and founder of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) American Chamber of Commerce in Dearborn, Michigan, called the video “offensive and counterproductive to peace talks” in a statement. Nemer, who said she voted for Trump in November, called on him to remove the video and issue a “reconciliatory statement.”

“As President Trump has said, Gaza in its current state is [uninhabitable] for any human being,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement. “President Trump is a visionary, and his plan to have the United States involved in Gaza’s rebuilding will allow for Palestinians to resettle in new, beautiful communities while improving conditions in the region for generations to come.”

According to officials in the Hamas-controlled territory, at least 48,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s Gaza offensive. In the initial attack, Hamas killed approximately 1,200 Israelis and took around 250 people hostage.

“The people of Gaza are looking forward to the day when they see Gaza rebuilt, economically revived and building a better future for its children, but this cannot succeed inside the big prison,” Basem Naim, spokesperson and Hamas Political Bureau member, told Newsweek. “We are not struggling to improve prison conditions, but to get rid of the prison and the jailer.”