Trump administration officials are hurrying to catch up to the president’s audacious and improbable plan for the United States to take ownership of Gaza and redevelop it into a “Middle Eastern Riviera,

Once a critic of nation building, the president now envisions taking over a Middle East enclave, driving out its Palestinian population and transforming it into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

Speaking of the two Israeli neighbors, Aaron David Miller, a former US Middle East peace negotiator, said on CNN: “It’s not a real estate deal for them, it’s not even a humanitarian issue for them. It’s an existential issue.”

Former MSNBC host Chris Matthews expressed shock and awe at Donald Trump's comment Tuesday during a press conference with Israeli PM Netanyahu that the U.S. might just take ownership of the Gaza Strip.

They cast his idea to own and rebuild the strip as a negotiating ploy Wednesday, while walking back key details.

President Donald Trump promised voters an administration that wouldn’t waste precious American lives and taxpayer treasure on far-off wars and nation building

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed President Trump's controversial plan to own Gaza, calling it an "out-of-the-box idea."

The White House is insisting that President DONALD TRUMP’s explosive suggestion that the United States could take over Gaza and relocate millions of Palestinian people should be taken both seriously and literally as lawmakers try to tamper down the idea and allies protest the dramatic proposal.

While President Trump has ridiculed past U.S. military deployments and nation-building efforts, he has consistently been drawn to Mideast diplomacy. But his proposal to “own” and develop the Gaza Strip and displace its population has many questioning how serious he is.