“Real Time” host Bill Maher didn’t completely rule out President Donald Trump’s plans for the Gaza Strip, siding with the idea that the war-torn territory “could be something else” in the future.
Trump made international headlines this week for saying the U.S. would “take over” and “level” Gaza after Israel ends its war with Hamas, displacing the Palestinian population to other Arab countries while developing what Trump called the “riviera of the Middle East” in order to bring stability in the region.
During his panel discussion, Maher told his guest Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., that there was a “little daylight” between the two of them on the subject.
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“He said, ‘You know, it’s going to be the riviera-‘ okay, that’s a little ridiculous,” Maher said. “But you know, this idea that it could be Dubai instead of Haiti, which is really what it is. it’s just like Haiti, run by a criminal gang, by a terrorist mafia gang. That’s why it’s a hellhole, not just for the Israelis next door, but for the people who live there, who hate Hamas as well. And it could be something else.”
“This is something I read in op-eds in The New York Times, 10, 15, 20 years ago. Gaza does not have to be that. It could be something closer to Dubai. So the fact that Donald Trump, in his childlike way, throws that idea out there, is not the worst thing in the world,” Maher continued.
“Real Time” host Bill Maher said President Trump’s idea about rebuilding the Gaza Strip is “not the worst thing in the world.” (Screenshot/HBO)
The liberal comedian went on to call out Trump’s comments being “all over the map,” including when he suggested the U.S. would be responsible for clearing out the explosives hidden in Gaza’s infrastructure, sarcastically asking “What could go wrong?”
“And again, the kernel of an idea here is valid, but the idea, but introducing the notion of American troops, and also, wouldn’t this be kind of expensive for you America First people?” Maher asked Donalds.
Puck News’ Tara Palmeri interjected, “It’s like Donald Trump wants to turn Gaza into Atlantic City, but like, let’s not forget how he left Atlantic City.”
“I don’t know if I’d leave him to Gaza,” Palmeri told Maher.
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U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu answer questions during a joint press conference in the East Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 4, 2025 ( REUTERS/Leah Millis)
Donalds pushed back, saying he’d rather have Trump call the shots with Gaza “than the Iranians.”
“Even the American troops piece that has been pulled back. That’s not the case. But you have to have some vision for what that part of the region should be,” Donalds said. “So is it [Israeli] involvement? Yes. Could it be Saudi Arabia as well? Could be. It depends on what the other nations in that region want, but what nobody wants is an Iran that is dominating that region.”
“I agree with the notion that it’s good to open a window and let in some fresh air, because people do get locked into silly ideas that we then take as the group think,” Maher responded. “For example, Syrian Civil War, all those refugees, a million wound up in Germany. Saudi Arabia took none. And we all just pretend this makes sense? That no other Arab countries will take refugees who you say are your brethren?”
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Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., called out the “mislogic” from liberal leaders in the U.S. and Europe over their handling of Middle East turmoil. (Screenshot/HBO)
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“I personally think that’s actually the mislogic of a lot of liberal-leaning leaders in Europe and in America,” Donalds continued, “thinking that you can just take refugees from these parts of the world and not think through the detailed steps of what it is for those countries to rebuild.”
“And I’m not talking about nation building a la George W. Bush, I’m not talking about that, but you’ve got to have leadership in that region. There have to be peace accords in that region. And so when President Trump was leaving the first time, that was the premise of the Abraham accords. Have the Arab states with Israel actually work together in peace so you can actually develop a stable, political, religious, whatever they choose that to be, and an economic area so people can live in harmony and peace, period,” Donalds added.
