Donald Trump: Master of Shitpost Diplomacy
In an age where memes and internet jokes have tangible results, Trump’s approach is uniquely suited to the moment.
The chittering political classes reacted with horror this morning as they woke up to a video President Trump posted to his Truth Social account. The AI-generated clip depicted “Trump Gaza,” a fantastical desert metropolis with towering skyscrapers, beachfront resorts, and golden statues of Trump himself.
Set to a soundtrack featuring lyrics like “No more tunnels, no more fear” and “Trump Gaza shining bright, golden future, brand new light,” the tongue-in-cheek video reinforces previous statements from the President about a potential American takeover of Gaza.
Earlier this month, Trump suggested that once hostilities ceased, Israel would transfer control of the Gaza Strip, allowing the U.S. to spearhead its development. “No U.S. soldiers would be needed,” he claimed. “Stability for the region would reign!!!”
Like much from Trumpworld, it was difficult to parse whether the President was serious. Would Mr. America First really want to embroil the nation in another Middle Eastern boondoggle?
It would seem that the obvious answer is no, and that Trump is engaging in his usual form of shitpost diplomacy.
It’s somewhat difficult to define what a shitpost is. At the risk of sounding terminally online, there’s layers of irony, humor, and internet savvy that make quality shitposts that are more than just… shit.
To somewhat oversimplify, a shitpost is a low effort, memey kind of content that’s deliberately posting something stupid to get a laugh. It’s cousin, the trollpost, is designed to elicit rage.
Back to Trump, it’s pretty clear that his political strategy revels in this type of shitposty, memey content. And that it’s majorly effective.
For decades, attempts to get Arab states to take responsibility for the Palestinians have repeatedly stalled. Trump’s relentless memeing about transforming Gaza into prime beachfront real estate pressured nations like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan to act.
Under the current Egyptian proposal, the League of Arab States would establish a national Palestinian committee, independent of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, to govern postwar Gaza and oversee reconstruction. Additionally, Egypt and other Arab nations would set up “secure areas” for Gazans, contract Egyptian and international firms to rebuild infrastructure, and monitor militant groups to maintain peace.
Trump has stated he will defer to the Arab plan.
If Arab nations follow through on this plan, a big “if”, Trump’s shitposting will have been more effective in decoupling America from its Middle Eastern morass than decades worth of conventional international relations.
This is the core of Trump’s strategy: it’s transactional, crude, yet undeniably effective.
Returning to the video, once the initial confusion subsides, it becomes clear that it’s a masterful shitpost. It has everything: cringeworthy music, bizarre bearded belly dancers, unflattering portrayals of Trump and Netanyahu, and an eerily grinning Elon Musk eating AI-generated slop.
Taken literally, it’s fucking terrible. But if the idea was to get recalcitrant Arab states to step up and clean up the terrorist mess in their backyard, it gets an A+.
Love it or hate it, the “Trump Gaza” video is a gold plated example of the terrific power of shitpost diplomacy. It’s crude, it’s surreal, it’s effective. Trump has managed to get an America First win using his phone and thirty seconds on ChatGPT.
In an age where memes and internet jokes have tangible results, Trump’s approach is uniquely suited to the moment. Though it could all go up in flames, as many things in the Middle East are wont to do, the future looks bright.
Maybe not as bright as an AI generated video of “Trump Gaza,” but certainly brighter than the current status quo.