On today’s show: Trump walked back his comments on a U.S. takeover of Gaza. The Wall Street Journal’s Dov Lieber discusses local reaction to his proposals. Trump signed an executive order to create an American sovereign-wealth fund, and the first thing he says it could do is bid to buy TikTok. Axios has the details. Kendrick Lamar is set to perform at the Super Bowl, and many people are wondering if he’ll bring his beef with Drake to the stage. The Los Angeles Times’s August Brown lays out what that might mean for both sides. Plus, a church in D.C. vandalized by the Proud Boys now owns the group’s name, why some Google employees blasted the company’s latest AI guidelines, and how parents are keeping up with the latest slang. Today’s episode was hosted by Shumita Basu.
Chapter 1: What are the implications of Trump's comments on Gaza?
But first, the White House is walking back comments made by President Trump suggesting the United States should take full control of Gaza, possibly through military force. Here's White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt on Wednesday.
The president has not committed to putting boots on the ground in Gaza. He has also said that the United States is not going to pay for the rebuilding of Gaza. His administration is going to work with our partners in the region to reconstruct this region.
When pressed by reporters, Levitt stopped short of explaining how the president would clear Gaza without military force. In Trump's initial comments on Tuesday, when he was hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, he said he would transform Gaza into the, quote, That Palestinians should leave Gaza and neighboring Egypt and Jordan should take them in.
The White House also tried to clarify that statement, saying yesterday that any displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip would be temporary. This attempt to soften some of Trump's suggestions came after a wave of global outrage. A spokesman for U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres called Trump's plan to displace Gazans, quote, "...tantamount to ethnic cleansing."
Saudi Arabia flatly rejected Trump's initial proposal, saying it would not normalize relations with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state. Egypt and Jordan, the countries Trump suggested should absorb displaced Gazans, also condemned Trump's remarks and said there can be no attempt to displace Palestinians from their homeland.
Reporters on the ground in Gaza say the idea of leaving, even temporarily, has gotten mixed reactions from Palestinians. One man told NPR, because Gaza has been destroyed so thoroughly by Israeli airstrikes, he doesn't see a future there and would be open to moving to a country that embraces and protects him. But another Palestinian told reporters with Reuters he'll never leave.
How can a Palestinian who holds the Palestinian nationality and whose ancestors died on this soil go to Egypt, Jordan or any other country? This is rejected and it will not pass on the Palestinian people because it is bigger than this.
Here in the U.S., the idea of taking control of Gaza and investing American dollars in development projects to rebuild was also met with mixed reviews. Democrats, by and large, denounced it. Republicans were a bit more across the board. Senator Marsha Blackburn said the plan would create economic prosperity. Congresswoman Nancy Mace said the U.S. should, quote, turn Gaza into Mar-a-Lago.
And House Speaker Mike Johnson reaffirmed his commitment to stand by Israel, but urged Americans to wait for more details about Trump's plan before jumping to conclusions. Other Republicans, though, were more immediately critical. Senator Rand Paul said on X, quote, I thought we voted for America first.
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Chapter 2: What is the significance of the proposed U.S. sovereign wealth fund?
Chapter 3: How are different political groups reacting to Trump's Gaza plan?
Chapter 4: What are the mixed reactions from Palestinians regarding displacement?
Chapter 5: What could Kendrick Lamar's performance at the Super Bowl mean for his beef with Drake?
Good morning. It's Thursday, February 6th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, what it would mean for the United States to have a sovereign wealth fund, the Kendrick Lamar Drake beef that might be headed for the Super Bowl, and do you know what Riz is? Congrats, you're already behind on the next wave of slang.
But first, the White House is walking back comments made by President Trump suggesting the United States should take full control of Gaza, possibly through military force. Here's White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt on Wednesday.
The president has not committed to putting boots on the ground in Gaza. He has also said that the United States is not going to pay for the rebuilding of Gaza. His administration is going to work with our partners in the region to reconstruct this region.
When pressed by reporters, Levitt stopped short of explaining how the president would clear Gaza without military force. In Trump's initial comments on Tuesday, when he was hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, he said he would transform Gaza into the, quote, That Palestinians should leave Gaza and neighboring Egypt and Jordan should take them in.
The White House also tried to clarify that statement, saying yesterday that any displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip would be temporary. This attempt to soften some of Trump's suggestions came after a wave of global outrage. A spokesman for U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres called Trump's plan to displace Gazans, quote, "...tantamount to ethnic cleansing."
Saudi Arabia flatly rejected Trump's initial proposal, saying it would not normalize relations with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state. Egypt and Jordan, the countries Trump suggested should absorb displaced Gazans, also condemned Trump's remarks and said there can be no attempt to displace Palestinians from their homeland.
Reporters on the ground in Gaza say the idea of leaving, even temporarily, has gotten mixed reactions from Palestinians. One man told NPR, because Gaza has been destroyed so thoroughly by Israeli airstrikes, he doesn't see a future there and would be open to moving to a country that embraces and protects him. But another Palestinian told reporters with Reuters he'll never leave.
How can a Palestinian who holds the Palestinian nationality and whose ancestors died on this soil go to Egypt, Jordan or any other country? This is rejected and it will not pass on the Palestinian people because it is bigger than this.
Here in the U.S., the idea of taking control of Gaza and investing American dollars in development projects to rebuild was also met with mixed reviews. Democrats, by and large, denounced it. Republicans were a bit more across the board. Senator Marsha Blackburn said the plan would create economic prosperity. Congresswoman Nancy Mace said the U.S. should, quote, turn Gaza into Mar-a-Lago.
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Chapter 6: How does the proposed wealth fund relate to American economic policy?
Chapter 7: What are the potential impacts of Trump's proposal on the Israel-Palestine conflict?
They think it's potentially ethnic cleansing and war crimes that President Trump is speaking about. We still don't quite understand the details, but at the end of the day, this is quite unprecedented a proposal by President Trump.
There are also real concerns that Trump's proposal, even a softened version of it, could jeopardize the already fragile ceasefire deal in place between Israel and Hamas and potentially the return of the remaining hostages. Trump's comments came as negotiations are underway for phase two of the ceasefire deal and days before the next planned swap of hostages for Palestinian detainees.
Now to a major financial proposal from the president you might have missed with all the news this week. On Monday, Trump signed an executive order calling on the Treasury and Commerce Departments to look into creating a sovereign wealth fund for the United States, essentially creating an investment fund that would be owned by the government.
And one of the first things Trump suggested he would do with this fund is put in a bid to buy TikTok. Sovereign wealth funds are typically found in oil-rich countries that run budget or trade surpluses. Those countries then direct those surplus funds toward investments with the goal of generating more money for future generations.
According to Axios, Norway, China, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore have the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world. Trump first floated the idea of creating one of these funds for the United States on the campaign trail.
Why don't we have a wealth fund? Other countries have wealth funds. We have nothing. We have nothing.
And he said he would use it to make major investments in our country's future.
We will build extraordinary national development projects and everything from highways to airports and to transportation, infrastructure, all of the future. We'll be able to invest in state-of-the-art manufacturing hubs, advanced defense capabilities, cutting-edge medical research. and help save billions of dollars in preventing disease.
The Biden White House had been looking into creating such a fund, and a lot of Democrats and Republicans like the idea, too. There has been pushback, usually from more conservative economists, who say instead of putting American money into a sovereign wealth fund, why not use that money instead to lower taxes? Now for Trump to make this idea a reality, he would need congressional approval.
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