Rick Wilson Slams Trump’s Gaza Deportation Plan as ‘Insane’ and a Gift to Extremists

Former Republican strategist-turned-Lincoln Project adviser Rick Wilson has slammed President Donald Trump’s proposal to forcibly deport all Palestinians from Gaza and transform the region into the “Riviera of the Middle East” with possible U.S. military assistance. Wilson described the plan as “insane” in a scathing Substack post published Wednesday.

Trump’s remarks, made during a Tuesday news conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have already sparked international outrage. Wilson argues that the criticism is justified, warning that the plan could have devastating geopolitical consequences.

“Donald Trump just openly committed American arms, honor, and credibility to forcibly expel Gaza’s Palestinian population and redevelop the territory into a glittering tourist hub,” Wilson wrote. He continued: “Yes, it sounds entirely unhinged, and it may torpedo any remaining hope of an enduring Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. It also hands every Islamist militant group an airtight propaganda victory: proof, in their eyes, that the United States is indeed the ‘Great Satan.’ It sounds insane because it is. It sounds manic because it is.

It sounds deranged because it is.” Wilson argues that the media has failed to properly frame Trump’s proposal, treating it as if it were part of a well-thought-out foreign policy strategy rather than an impulsive, erratic outburst. “The press is approaching this idea the wrong way,” Wilson wrote.

“Their reaction stems from the persistent, and persistently wrong, assumption that Trump acts with coherent intent, good counsel, sound judgment, and the nation’s interests at heart. In reality, he is a figure of chaos, a ‘last-person-heard’ president who leaps from one manic idea to the next.”

He also pointed out the hypocrisy of Trump’s stance, given that he originally ran on promises of non-intervention and ending American military entanglements abroad. One of the most revealing moments from Trump’s Gaza announcement, Wilson noted, was the visible reaction of his chief of staff, Susie Wiles. Known for her iron grip on Trump’s political operation, Wiles was caught in a widely circulated photograph with an expression of shock and disbelief as she listened to the president.

“The widely photographed look on Susie Wiles’s face spoke volumes: even insiders realize nothing and no one controls Trump,” Wilson observed. “He is a man who is, by all appearances, both mentally unstable and cognitively unable to process reality beyond his own mental architecture.”

Wilson concluded by warning that Trump’s erratic leadership is becoming an increasing liability, even for Republican state leaders. “The damage is mounting, and even red-state leaders are slowly waking up to the danger of entrusting government after government function to the most extreme and least capable loyalists,” he wrote.

With Trump’s proposal already fueling global condemnation, Wilson’s criticism adds to the growing alarm over the administration’s approach to Middle East policy. Whether the plan gains any traction or is swiftly abandoned remains to be seen.