Trump unveils his vision to rebuild Gaza into a seaside metropolis

Geoff Bennett:

Welcome to the "News Hour."

President Trump is back at the White House tonight. He returned to Washington after wrapping a whirlwind trip to Davos for the World Economic Forum, where he seems to have defused a crisis he first created by insisting the U.S. acquire Greenland, a self-governing territory of Denmark.

Leaders across Europe roundly criticized and rejected a U.S. takeover.

Amna Nawaz:

Trump also presented his plan for what he calls the Board of Peace, which he would chair, in order to establish and oversee the cease-fire and postwar plans for Gaza. But, already, the American president has expanded the proposed board's purview to conflicts around the world.

Man:

Please welcome the chairman of the Board of Peace, the president of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump.

(Applause)

Amna Nawaz:

In Davos today, President Trump officially introducing what he calls the Board of Peace.

President Donald Trump:

Together, we are in a position to have an incredible chance, I don't even call it a chance, I think it's going to happen, to end decades of suffering, stop generations of hatred and bloodshed, and forge a beautiful, everlasting and glorious peace.

Amna Nawaz:

So far, some 35 nations have signed on, many attending today's ceremony, from Argentina and Bulgaria to Qatar and Saudi Arabia to Turkey and Mongolia.

Some, including Canada, Germany and Israel, have joined, but were absent today, and others, like France and Britain, have rejected the invitation. The rollout of the board, born of a peace plan for postwar Gaza, was accompanied by this.

Man:

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

(Applause)

Amna Nawaz:

A pledge by the American president to rebuild Gaza into a sprawling seaside metropolis.

President Donald Trump:

See, I'm a real estate person at heart, and it's all about location. And I said, look at this location on the sea. Look at this beautiful piece of property, what it could be for so many people.

Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, presented the vision, a $25 billion proposal for gleaming skyscrapers, 100,000 housing units, 75 medical centers, and an expected GDP of $10 billion by 2035.

Jared Kushner, Former Senior Presidential Adviser:

I think that the war's over. Let's do our best to try working together. Our goal here is peace between Israel and the Palestinian people. Everyone wants to live peacefully. Everyone wants to live with dignity. Let's put our efforts towards promoting those who are doing the work to build this up.

Amna Nawaz:

But there are no representatives from Gaza on the board overseeing its future.

And on the ground, Olfat Al Shawaf, still displaced from her home, is skeptical of the plans.

Olfat Al Shawaf, Displaced Palestinian (through interpreter):

Honestly, I don't expect not even 1 percent to be rebuilt. You're just offering tents and talking about reconstruction? What reconstruction? Let them remove the rubble first, then start rebuilding.

Amna Nawaz:

Trump has already expanded the board's scope beyond Gaza to other conflicts around the world, raising concerns about how the group he chairs works with or around the United Nations.

President Donald Trump:

Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do, and we will do it in conjunction with the United Nations. You know, I have always said the United Nations has got tremendous potential, has not used it.

Amna Nawaz:

Meanwhile, in Brussels, an emergency summit for European leaders to discuss Greenland's future a day after President Trump walked back military threats of a U.S. takeover and proclaimed a deal was in the works.

Before the meeting, Denmark's prime minister reiterated her nation's red line that the island, home to 55,000 people, is not for sale.

Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Denmark: We have said from the very beginning that a discussion about our status as a sovereign state, it cannot be discussed, it cannot be changed. We are willing to work together with the U.S., of course, as we have always done, about security.

Amna Nawaz:

Greenland strategically sits in the middle of the shortest route for land-based missiles and bombers between the U.S. and Russia. And experts worry that, as the ice melts, sea lanes open up, including to Russian and Chinese ships.

Despite no official details for a deal yet, Trump declared the U.S. would have total access.

President Donald Trump:

We're going to have all military access that we want. We're going to be able to put what we need on Greenland, because we want it. We're talking about national security and international security.

Amna Nawaz:

And our foreign affairs correspondent, Nick Schifrin, has been covering this all and joins me now.

And, Nick, let's start with what the president said about Greenland. Total military access, what does that mean?

Nick Schifrin:

Multiple European officials tell me tonight there is no agreement for what that means, but there is a framework. So that would include more U.S. bases on Greenland. It would include guaranteed American mineral rights for mining on Greenland. It would be increased NATO presence, not only around Greenland but across the Arctic.

And Chinese and Russian military and investments would be specifically excluded. There will be two tracks moving forward, Amna. The U.S. will negotiate directly with Denmark and Greenland over the fate of the island itself. Could that end up with American sovereignty over bases in Greenland?

Despite what you have just heard from the prime minister, one senior European official actually tells me it's too early to tell the answer to that question. Secondly, NATO will increase its Arctic presence with the goal of having actual plans for that increased presence by a summit in July.

So this is just the beginning of the process. But nothing we just talked about was what the president has been demanding, which is ownership over Greenland. So, clearly, he decided to take an off-ramp. And to extend the metaphor, European officials are asking me whether there is like a 17-car pile-up in the rearview mirror that he left behind.

What is the lasting impact of all of this Greenland talk on the transatlantic alliance? European officials I talked to are split between saying this is a real rupture and saying, no, we have no choice. We will continue to rely on the U.S.

Amna Nawaz:

So for those who think it is a rupture, why is that? Why has this moment been so harmful?

Nick Schifrin:

I think there's a psychological sensitivity to the president flying to Europe to disparage Europe.

Yesterday in Davos, he said of NATO -- quote -- "We have helped them for so many years. We have never gotten anything."

And that offends Denmark especially. More Danish troops died in Afghanistan per capita than U.S. troops died in Afghanistan. And then there's the reality of the relationship. European officials told me they are relieved that the president has taken off the table the military, the economic threats.

But multiple officials also said to me they don't know if that will be the president's policy tomorrow.

Amna Nawaz:

Nick Schifrin, thank you, as always.

Nick Schifrin:

Thank you.