© 2025 WHRO Public Media
5200 Hampton Boulevard, Norfolk VA 23508
757.889.9400 | info@whro.org
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Trump's social media video garners pushback from Arabs and Muslims in U.S. and Gaza

A composite made from an AI-generated video President Trump posted to social media on Tuesday night.
Screenshots via Instagram. Annotation by NPR
A composite made from an AI-generated video President Trump posted to social media on Tuesday night.

Arabs and Muslims in the United States and abroad are criticizing a controversial video posted by President Trump on social media.

The apparently AI-generated video includes depictions of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sunbathing in Gaza, and imagines scenes of destruction in Gaza transformed into a glitzy Riviera-style resort called "TRUMP GAZA."

The video also shows children running out of the rubble into a world of palm trees and luxury buildings, and a towering golden statue of Trump. It depicts men in apparent drag dancing in bikinis on the beach, Trump enjoying a belly dancer and a man resembling Elon Musk being showered with cash in the form of U.S. currency.

The post comes weeks after Trump suggested the U.S. should take over the Gaza strip and relocate Palestinians.

In Gaza, many residents have little to no internet service, but some who viewed the video expressed anger to NPR Gaza producer Anas Baba. Baba showed the video to 20-year-old Mohamed Abdelrahman who rejected the idea.

"We won't be lured by a few statues and money, leave us alone and let us rebuild our homes by ourselves," he told Baba.

Faye Nemer, CEO and Founder of the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) American Chamber of Commerce in Dearborn, Michigan, called the video "offensive and counterproductive to peace talks" in a statement to NPR.

Nemer, who says she voted for Trump in November, is calling on him to remove the video and issue a "reconciliatory statement."

Copyright 2025 NPR

Sarah McCammon
Sarah McCammon is a National Political Correspondent for NPR and co-host of the NPR Politics Podcast. Her work focuses on political, social and cultural divides in America, including abortion policy and the intersections of politics and religion. She's also a frequent guest host for NPR news programs.
Hadeel Al-Shalchi
Hadeel al-Shalchi is an editor with Weekend Edition. Prior to joining NPR, Al-Shalchi was a Middle East correspondent for the Associated Press and covered the Arab Spring from Tunisia, Bahrain, Egypt, and Libya. In 2012, she joined Reuters as the Libya correspondent where she covered the country post-war and investigated the death of Ambassador Chris Stephens. Al-Shalchi also covered the front lines of Aleppo in 2012. She is fluent in Arabic.
Anas Baba
[Copyright 2024 NPR]