Gaza joins list of Trump proposals backed by Fetterman

After President Donald Trump suggested a plan to “take over” and “own” the Gaza Strip, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman said he was open to the idea.

Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, called the plan “provocative,” but it’s “part of the conversation,” The Hill reported.

“The Palestinians have refused, or they’ve been unwilling to deliver a government that provided security and economic development for themselves,” the senator said to the Jewish Insider publication. “They allowed 10/7 to occur, and now Gaza has to be rebuilt.”

Fetterman, an ally of Israel in its war against Palestinian militant group Hamas, was referring to the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel, during which roughly 1,200 Israelis were killed and more than 250 people were taken hostage, sparking a war in the region.

After Trump’s White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, the president suggested during a news conference that the U.S. could help rebuild by taking over the Gaza Strip, The Hill said.

Trump didn’t provide details about who would live there, but he suggested displaced Palestinians wouldn’t want to return to the region and could be permanently resettled elsewhere.

Trump said he isn’t ruling out deploying U.S. troops to support reconstruction of Gaza.

Fetterman said he would support U.S. troops on the ground there.

“I don’t know what the role (of U.S. forces) is, but they’re obviously a part of it, and I fully support (it),” he said.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia described Trump’s proposal as “deranged” and “nuts.”

On Thursday, Fetterman defended his stance during a conversation with Tara Palmeri on her podcast “Somebody’s Gotta Win.”

“I don’t personally believe that they are going to turn Gaza into Trump Plaza kind of a situation,” Fetterman said. During another part of the interview, he said some of his colleagues were in “freak-out” mode.

“Many of my colleagues — we’re a little over two weeks in — and now they’re in full on freak-out, and now they’ve got the signs and they’re going out, ‘Ahhhh. Hey, let’s grab a bullhorn and go into a Starbucks and start yelling.’ ”

The Pennsylvania senator’s apparent openness to the Gaza plan and other recent Trump initiatives has disappointed and concerned the Democratic Party, the Associated Press reported.

The Senate confirmed Pam Bondi as attorney general on Tuesday evening by a 54-46 vote, with one Democrat — Fetterman — joining the Republican majority, the New York Times reported.

On Wednesday, a crowd gathered and chanted outside of Fetterman’s office in Wilkes-Barre, demanding that he vote against the nomination of Russell Vought for director of the Office of Management and Budget, WHP CBS 21 Harrisburg reported. The crowd also held signs protesting Elon Musk, President Donald Trump and Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for how to govern America.

In Downtown Pittsburgh, a crowd gathered Wednesday in front of the Federal Building to protest Fetterman’s support of Trump’s agenda, PublicSource reported.

MSNBC tallied the ways Fetterman has supported Trump recently:

• Offered positive comments about Trump’s goal of acquiring Greenland;
• Met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago;
• Joined Trump’s social media platform;
• Endorsed a presidential pardon for Trump, calling the New York case against the Republican “(expletive)”;
• Described Trump as “a singular political talent”;
• Met with Kash Patel and seemed reassured when the GOP operative said he wouldn’t pursue the names on his enemies list if confirmed as the next FBI director;
• Co-sponsored the Republicans’ Laken Riley Act.