‘It’s always been his plan’: Trump’s resurfaced debate with Marco Rubio confirms his ongoing intentions for Palestine

Donald Trump’s declaration to annex the Gaza Strip has been met with widespread condemnation. Now, a clip taken from the Republican presidential debate in 2016 has resurfaced online, and it reveals the president’s perspective on the issue, which led to the infamous proposal.

Trump, who was then running for president in 2016, prided himself on being a seasoned negotiator. His decades of experience in business and real estate backed that statement. “I’ve done very well, over the years, through negotiation. It’s very important that we do that,” he said about the issue surrounding Palestine and Israel at the time. He then took a jab at Senator Marco Rubio, who ran against Trump in 2016 for the presidency. “In all fairness, Marco is not a negotiator. I watched him meltdown, and I’ll tell you it was one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen.”

Dumbfounded by Trump’s insult, Rubio bit back. “He thinks that the Palestinians are a real estate deal. The Palestinians are not a real estate deal, Donald.” Trump insisted that “a deal is a deal” all the same. Not wanting to concede, Rubio interrupted, “A deal is not a deal when you’re dealing with terrorists. Have you ever negotiated with a terrorist?” In this case, Rubio referred to Hamas. Years later, in 2025, Trump appointed Marco Rubio as his Secretary of State. Rubio hasn’t opposed Trump’s decision to take over the hotly contested land and has even praised the president for his move.

X users condemned Marco Rubio’s change in tune and lack of opposition to Trump’s current plans. One X user accused Rubio of being a “compliant sycophant” to Trump. Another disillusioned X user thought that Trump’s rhetoric in the clip foreshadowed his plans for Gaza. They wrote, “It’s always been his plan.”

A real-estate deal in the making

Barely three weeks into Trump’s presidency, he said the United States “will take over the Gaza Strip.” Rubio, who once thought the solution wouldn’t be as simple, bandwagoned with the president’s comment on X. The tweet has been deleted, but Rubio expressed that Trump’s effort will “Make Gaza Beautiful Again.” In another separate interview in Guatemala, Rubio expressed it was necessary for Palestinians to be moved out of the Gaza Strip. “In the interim, obviously people are going to have to live somewhere while you’re rebuilding it.”

Despite Rubio’s shift in support of Trump, his statement from 2016 rings true. The president handled the issue of Palestine and Israel as if it were a real estate deal. Trump comments about turning the Gaza Strip into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” as well as likening the land into a demolition site, isn’t regular language that should be used to describe a war-torn area. Additionally, Trump vaguely answered that it would be “the people of the world” who will reside in Gaza after it’s rebuilt. It’s an answer that doesn’t confirm but implies the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians through forcible expulsion.

Essentially, there’s no promise of return for Palestinians — the ultimate winner of this deal would be Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, as well as other Israeli politicians, is already celebrating Trump’s declaration. This should come as no surprise, since the Israeli prime minister and his government have displaced Palestinians and cornered them into Gaza. Israel would finally be given the opportunity to push the remaining Palestinians out of their land. With Trump’s help, rebuilding is definitely possible — but most likely in favor of settlers and not the displaced.