CNN’s Anderson Cooper found himself struggling to get through President Donald Trump’s latest social media post on Thursday, as the president doubled down on his vision to remake the Gaza Strip into what he described as a “world-class destination.”
On his primetime show, Anderson Cooper Live, the anchor took on the task of reading Trump’s lengthy and often confusing post from Truth Social, adding his own annotations and fact-checks along the way.
“The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting,” Cooper read aloud. Pausing momentarily, he interjected, “Unclear. So, I guess the ceasefire would be done, there’d be a new war, and then at the conclusion of that war…”
As he attempted to continue, Cooper was quickly stopped in his tracks by one particularly baffling statement. “Then his tweet continued: The Palestinians, people like Chuck Schumer…” he read, before visibly hesitating.
The veteran anchor then turned to the camera and stated matter-of-factly, “Chuck Schumer is not Palestinian.” Repeating himself for emphasis, he re-read the sentence, highlighting Trump’s erratic use of punctuation.
Despite the interruptions, Cooper eventually powered through the entire post and moved on to his scheduled guest interviews. During the discussion, he expressed his astonishment that Trump’s proposal was being “treated as a real plan” in some political circles.
New York Times journalist David Sanger, one of Cooper’s guests, was quick to dismantle the proposal. The core problem here,” Sanger explained, “is there is no plan.”
Trump’s post, which outlined a vague and improbable vision for U.S. control over the war-torn region, has drawn widespread criticism and confusion. While the president has frequently made grandiose policy declarations on social media, analysts argue that his latest suggestion lacks any practical framework, diplomatic strategy, or legal precedent.
As the proposal continues to make waves in political discourse, critics, including Cooper, remain skeptical about whether it holds any serious merit—or is simply another example of Trump’s headline-grabbing rhetoric.