-Analysis-
PARIS – The beauty of artificial intelligence is that it can bring your fantasies to life.
Donald Trump shared his latest fantasy via an AI-generated video on his platform, Truth Social, depicting his vision of turning Gaza into the French “Riviera” of the Middle East. He dreams up the plan, AI creates it — and the result is nothing short of astonishing. The video showcases futuristic skyscrapers, lively beaches, tourists enjoying themselves, belly dancers, endless cocktails, and even dollar bills raining down on Elon Musk.
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But the most striking image? Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, lounging on beach chairs in their swimsuits, cocktails in hand, soaking up the sun on “Gaza Beach” with a new Trump Tower looming in the background. The video has gone viral across the globe.
It would be laughable — if it weren’t about a territory that has endured a relentless barrage of bombs for a year and a half, leaving tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and where Israeli hostages are still being held. To put it mildly, sharing the video is grotesque.
A shock proposal comes to life
The images are of course a reflection of Donald Trump’s worldview: a world where there are winners and “losers,” as he puts it. And clearly, the two million Palestinians in Gaza, all reductively lumped together with Hamas militants, are “losers” he has no interest in.
It’s unclear who created this video, made with AI software, but when the President of the United States shares it on his account without comment, the message turns political, where it otherwise could have remained little more than a prank of notably bad taste.
The political message aligns with his proposal that shocked the Arab world: to transfer Palestinians from Gaza to other countries in the region, particularly Egypt and Jordan, while turning Gaza into a seaside resort of the Eastern Mediterranean.
Golden calf lessons
The Palestinians reject this proposal, seeing it as a “new Nakba” — the Arabic word for “catastrophe,” referring to the 1948 exodus. Egypt and Jordan are equally opposed, and the wider Arab world is strongly against it, a sentiment likely to be expressed at a summit held Thursday. While Trump’s idea may never come to fruition , it has already shifted the political landscape.
The key to this video may lie in the image of a giant golden statue of… Donald Trump himself.
By presenting this proposal, and now sharing this tacky video, Trump has fueled the most extreme projects in Israel. The far-right Israeli dream of expelling Palestinians from their land is being legitimized by the White House. In fact, this is currently being carried out in the West Bank, where tens of thousands of Palestinians are being driven from their homes in large-scale military operations, while the ceasefire continues in Gaza.
The key to this video may lie in the image of a giant golden statue of… Donald Trump himself. It has drawn criticism even from his own supporters, who see it as the self-worship and idolatry of the Golden Calf tale from the Bible.
The president’s oversized ego is destined to be his Achilles’ heel: it leads him to endorse anything that flatters him, even when basic decency and wise political judgment would suggest he refrain from hitting the share button.
