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.
Full Episode
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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