Letters to the Editor: Trump's Gaza proposal: media manipulation or a mad leader's raving?

Yahoo

07-02-2025

To the editor: Setting aside for argument's sake the shredding of international law represented by President Trump's plan to remove the Gaza Strip's remaining Palestinian population, take it over as U.S. property and turn it into a resort, let's bring it home another way.
What if Trump announces a plan to remove and permanently displace all surviving residents of the recently burned down residential areas of Los Angeles? What if he proposes a federal takeover of their properties to turn them over to his developer friends so they can give "the world's people" an opportunity to own a piece of paradise on Earth?
How would that sound to Americans, particularly to us Angelenos? Insane is one word that comes to mind. Impeachment is another.
Saif M. Hussain, Woodland Hills
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To the editor: During Trump's first term, strategist Stephen K. Bannon noted that the media were the president's enemy but were lazy and easy to manipulate. The best approach was to create a story so outrageous that the media would follow it and therefore keep themselves busy, allowing Trump to implement his real agenda.
Evidently, Trump paid attention to Bannon and now uses this strategy to great effect.
While America burns and Americans are hurt by the policies and actions of the Trump administration, the president provides the media with a shiny object to draw their attention. The real question here is when will they learn, or even will they ever learn?
Edward Knight, Orange
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To the editor: Trump's proposal that the United States would seize control of Gaza, displace the Palestinians and turn the area into the "riviera of the Middle East" is the raving of a real estate developer, not a foreign policy worthy of an American president.
Whether Trump was serious or not, the response from allies in the Middle East and Europe was immediate dismissal, conveying the impression that the United States is not a nation to be taken seriously.
Trump was elected on a pledge to work for average Americans, including bringing down the price of groceries. How would seizing Gaza do that?
To all who voted for him, this is the time to question your decision and ask what has he done for you, and what will he do for you?
Joyce Kaufman, June Lake, Calif.
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To the editor: Beginning in 1831, the United States, with the full approval of President Andrew Jackson, forced 60,000 people to leave their ancestral homes in the South for land in present-day Oklahoma. History calls this tragedy the Trail of Tears. An estimated 16,000 Native Americans perished in this mandatory evacuation.
Trump's suggestion that the Palestinians be moved from Gaza to a "nice" place somewhere else smacks of history repeating itself. The motive for both upheavals is the same: Someone wants the land. In the 1800s, white Americans coveted the land of the five "civilized" tribes. Now, a grasping executive has his eye on creating a resort in Gaza.
Instead of spending money creating yet another overpriced playground for the wealthy, how about using those funds to help the people of Gaza rebuild in their homeland?
Or, if the president doesn't like that idea, what if he just offers up Mar-a-Lago to the refugees? It's a nice place, and I'm sure the Palestinians would appreciate the peaceful setting.
Julie Schefcick, La Habra
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.