Tangle - President Trump’s comments on Gaza.

Episode Date: February 6, 2025

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump said the United States will take over the Gaza Strip to facilitate its reconstruction after it was largely destroyed during the 15-month war between Israel... and Hamas. Speaking at a press conference at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said that Palestinians living in Gaza should be permanently resettled in surrounding Arab countries and implied that the U.S. could take a “long-term ownership position” over the enclave. The president did not rule out the use of military force to carry out the plan.Ad-free podcasts are here!Many listeners have been asking for an ad-free version of this podcast that they could subscribe to — and we finally launched it. You can go to tanglemedia.supercast.com to sign up!You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠, our “Under the Radar” story ⁠here and today’s “Have a nice day” story ⁠here⁠.Take the survey: What do you think of Trump’s plan? Let us know!You can subscribe to Tangle by clicking here or drop something in our tip jar by clicking here. Our podcast is written by Isaac Saul and edited and engineered by Dewey Thomas. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75. Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Will Kaback, Bailey Saul, Sean Brady, and produced in conjunction with Tangle’s social media manager Magdalena Bokowa, who also created our logo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 With the Fizz loyalty program, you get rewarded just for having a mobile plan. You know, for texting and stuff. And if you're not getting rewards like extra data and dollars off with your mobile plan, you're not with Fizz. Switch today. Conditions apply. Details at fizz.ca. FanDuel Casino's exclusive live dealer studio has your chance at the number one feeling, winning, which beats even the 27th best feeling, saying, I do. Who wants this last parachute?
Starting point is 00:00:25 I do. Enjoy the number one feeling. Winning, in an exciting live dealer studio, exclusively on FanDuel Casino, where winning is undefeated. 19 plus and physically located in Ontario. Gambling problem? Call 1-866-531-2600 or visit connexontario.ca. Please play responsibly. From executive producer, Isaac Saul, this is Tangle. Good morning, good afternoon and good evening and welcome to the Tangle podcast, the place where you get views from across the political spectrum, some independent thinking and a little bit of our take.
Starting point is 00:01:15 I'm your host, Ari Weitzman, and today we're going to be talking about Trump's latest comments on Israel and Palestine. Since it's a pretty weighty topic, we're going to be giving it a lot of extra attention today, which means no reader question to read, but please keep writing in with anything that's on your mind. Before we get started, just wanna let everybody know that we have been busy over the last couple of weeks.
Starting point is 00:01:36 We have a lot of interesting interviews that we're gonna be releasing as part of our podcast lineup over the course of the next few weeks. Starting later today with an interview that editor Will Kabeck did with Stephen Hawkins, the director of research at More In Common, a nonprofit that researches political polarization and strategies to build more cohesive communities. So keep an eye out for that. Keep an eye out for our Friday piece tomorrow that we'll also penned about a deep dive into
Starting point is 00:02:03 the FAA. But today I'm going to turn it over to John to introduce our topic, get us started with the Quick Hits before I come back for my take. ["Quick Hits"] Thank you, Ari, and welcome everybody. Here are your Quick Hits for today.
Starting point is 00:02:21 First up, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that mandates Title IX, the law banning schools that receive federal funding from engaging in sex discrimination, be interpreted as prohibiting transgender women and girls from competing in women's and girls' sports. Trump said the order would apply to visa policies for athletes who travel to the United States to compete in the Olympics or other sporting events. Number 2. A second federal judge blocked President Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship, ruling that it could not take effect until a court rules on challenges to the order.
Starting point is 00:02:54 A prior decision from another federal judge had blocked the order for 14 days. Number 3. The Central Intelligence Agency offered buyouts to its entire workforce. Officials said the move is part of an effort to bring the agency in line with President Trump's agenda. Separately, at the White House's request, the CIA shared a list of all employees hired by the spy agency over the last two years. The list, sent in an unclassified email, included the first names and last initials of the new
Starting point is 00:03:23 hires. One day after saying it would stop accepting inbound mail and packages from China and Hong Kong, the U.S. Postal Service said it would resume package delivery from those countries. The agency added that it is working with Customs and Border Protection to ensure compliance with President Trump's new tariffs on Chinese imports. Argentina announced it would pull out of the World Health Organization, citing deep differences with the organization's management of public health issues. The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too.
Starting point is 00:04:06 We'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site. Level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings. Level it out. Create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area. Do a real job, do something different. Just can't go back.
Starting point is 00:04:31 If you go back, it's going to end up the same way it has for a hundred years. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump said the United States will take over the Gaza Strip to facilitate its reconstruction after it was largely destroyed during a 15-month war between Israel and Hamas. Speaking at a press conference at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said that the Palestinians living in Gaza should be permanently resettled in surrounding Arab countries and implied that the U.S. could take a long-term ownership position over the enclave.
Starting point is 00:05:03 The president did not rule out the use of military force to carry out the plan. On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt sought to clarify aspects of Trump's comments, saying that Gossens would be temporarily relocated during the rebuilding process and that Trump had not yet committed to using the U.S. military for the effort. Secretary of State Marco Rubio framed Trump's position as an offer, saying that it should not be interpreted as a hostile move. Several other members of the Trump administration also weighed in on the plan. Steve Whitkoff, the White House's Mideast envoy, spoke with lawmakers at the Capitol
Starting point is 00:05:37 and said the President was not speaking extemporaneously when he made the remarks. According to Senator Josh Hawley, Whitckoff said Trump has been gestating on the plan for some time. Furthermore, Wyckoff suggested that the governments of other Arab countries could be persuaded to resettle Palestinians in return for treaties and economic agreements with the United States. Some Republican lawmakers criticized the proposal. On Wednesday, Senator Rand Paul said Trump's plan would violate the America First principle that the president campaigned on. "...We have no business contemplating yet on another occupation to doom our treasure and spill our soldiers' blood," Paul wrote in a post on X.
Starting point is 00:06:13 Other Republicans were more supportive of the idea, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who called it a bold step toward restoring peace in the region. Meanwhile, a chorus of Democrats described Trump's comments as dangerous and illegal, with Senator Elizabeth Warren calling the plan inconsistent with American values. Senator Tina Smith said Trump is completely ignoring the sovereignty and the self-determination of the Palestinian people who have lived in this place for generations. On Thursday, President Trump shared more details about the proposal in a post on Truth Social. The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States
Starting point is 00:06:47 by Israel at the conclusion of fighting, Trump wrote. The US working with great development teams from all over the world would slowly and carefully begin the construction of what would become one of the greatest and most spectacular developments of its kind on Earth. Trump's comments come at a tenuous time as the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is still ongoing.
Starting point is 00:07:08 Hamas officials released a statement on Tuesday calling Trump's proposal a recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region. Separately, Prime Minister Netanyahu said the idea was worth pursuing and represented something that could change history. Today, we'll share arguments from the right and the left about Trump's proposal. Then managing editor Ari Weitzman will give his take. We'll be right back after this quick break. Fandu casino daily jackpots guaranteed to hit by 11 p.m. with your chance at the number one feeling this quick break. 19 plus and physically located in Ontario. Gambling problem call 1-866-531-2600 or visit connectsontario.ca.
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Starting point is 00:08:20 And if you're not getting rewards like extra data and dollars off with your mobile plan, you're not with Fizz. Switch today. Conditions apply. Details at Fizz.ca. All right. First up, let's start with what the writers say. The writers mixed on the proposal, though many commend Trump for issuing the failed status
Starting point is 00:08:42 quo. Some say Trump imperils his promising vision for Middle East peace with this plan. Others argue the plan rests on faulty assumptions. In the Wall Street Journal, Elia Kaufman wrote about Trump's plan to free Palestinians from Gaza. President Trump shocked the world with his proposal to resettle Gazans in nearby countries, but not because the idea is cruel. Few critics dispute his point that it would benefit the displaced to escape the demolition site of Gaza and live in peace rather than as cannon fodder. The real disturbance, after decades to the contrary, is to think
Starting point is 00:09:14 seriously about what it would mean to put Palestinians' lives first rather than sacrificing them to the lost cause of Palestine, as their leaders always do, Kaufman said. The scandal isn't that displaced Palestinians now could be transferred voluntarily out of Gaza. It's that they have been forced to stay there, as Hamas's shields during the war and among the ruins in its aftermath. Even as Arab states claimed Israel was slaughtering Palestinians indiscriminately, they insisted Gaza's borders stay shut.
Starting point is 00:09:43 When Palestinians tried to flee the war, as is their human right, Egypt forcibly closed the border with the support of the international community, Kaufman wrote. When Trump says he would like to resettle people permanently in nice homes where they can be happy and not shot, not be killed, he is accused of inhumanity. The humane solution by liberal lights is to sacrifice another generation of Palestinians to permanent refugee status and a forever war on Israel. In MSNBC, Daniel R. De Petras argued Trump's Gaza relocation comment is liable to kill his own diplomatic agenda.
Starting point is 00:10:18 Can Donald Trump, the self-professed peacemaker who has eyed the coveted Nobel Peace Prize for many years, go where no U.S. president has gone before by striking a transformational, comprehensive peace deal in the Middle East," Petras asked. Trump's critics would answer with a big eye roll. And yet, his pressuring of Netanyahu to sign on to the first stage of a three-phase ceasefire deal with Hamas, three more hostages were freed over the weekend and returned for more than 100 Palestinian prisoners, the fourth round of prisoner exchanges since the deal took effect in mid-January, at least gives some credibility behind the ambition.
Starting point is 00:10:50 But Trump can kiss all of this goodbye if he intends to move forward with his ongoing calls to expel the Palestinian population from Gaza. At the top of the wish list is an Israel-Saudi normalization accord, something like his predecessor Joe Biden couldn't finalize before his term ended, De Petra said. Yet none of this will happen if Palestinians are forced to leave their own lands. It would snuff out an expansion of the Abraham Accords before the Trump administration even got the ball rolling. In National Review, Philip Klein explored Trump's Gaza bombshell. President Trump has developed a reputation for zigging when everybody else says it's time to zag. But when it comes to the plan he just outlined for Gaza, it's more like
Starting point is 00:11:29 one side is zigging, another is zagging, and he just busted into the White House East Room and shouted, hippopotamus. It's hard to think of any other way to convey the sense in which Trump has upended decades of discussion about the Arab-Israeli conflict, Klein wrote. The most fundamental flaw of the proposal is the assumption that the Palestinian population primarily is interested in living in a peaceful and prosperous place somewhere else. In reality, Palestinians are largely supportive of Hamas terrorism. They see Gaza as their homeland, and they don't think Israel should exist. They will not want to leave.
Starting point is 00:12:03 As far as the second part of Trump's Gaza plan, there would be no real authority for the U.S. to swoop in and claim ownership in Gaza, and for a president who campaigned on putting an end to endless wars and disentangling from foreign interventions, it would be bizarre to send troops to help create some sort of American economic outpost in one of the most dangerous hotspots in the world, Klein said. It's quite possible, as has happened in the past, that Trump is saying something outrageous to shake things up and freak everybody out, and then he'll ultimately be open to pursuing more conventional ends.
Starting point is 00:12:35 That said, we should be clear that Trump's plan for Gaza as he outlined it tonight is not going to happen. Alright that is what the right is saying, which brings us to what the left is saying. The left mostly opposes Trump's idea, saying, it is unwise and implausible. Some say Trump has identified a real problem to address, but his solution would not be effective. Others say that forcing Palestinians to move would be ethnic cleansing. In the Washington Post, David Ignatius said Trump's proposed takeover of Gaza was incendiary. President Donald Trump, who said he wanted to end Middle East wars, is stumbling toward a dangerous new entanglement with his talk of expelling
Starting point is 00:13:25 Palestinians from Gaza and seizing the territory for the United States," Ignatius wrote. Concerns about the jaw-dropping proposal were so swift and sharp on Wednesday that White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt rushed to clarify that Trump didn't plan to pay for the project or send U.S. troops. If that's true, and no other country in the region appears ready to offer financial or military support, then the proposal is the foreign policy equivalent of an empty suit. The leaders of Egypt and Jordan, the two nations Trump mentioned as relocation sites when he first floated the idea ten days ago, have been summoned to meet Trump in Washington next week.
Starting point is 00:13:59 They're afraid of him, as most of the world seems to be after two weeks of threats in action, but they're even more worried about the danger of internal unrest that could follow an expulsion of Palestinians into their territory," Ignatius said. Trump's capricious proposal is the latest example of an administration that, in its pell-mell desire for disruption, seems oblivious to the implications for national security. In The Atlantic, Yair Rosenberg wrote, Nobody wants Gazelago. Trump's Gazelago plan has just one minor defect. It's a non-starter with pretty much all of the parties required to make it work.
Starting point is 00:14:34 Fresh off failed forays into Iraq and Afghanistan, many Americans will bulk at inserting themselves into one of the Middle East's most intractable conflicts, Rosenberg said. Trump named Jordan and Egypt as two Arab countries that could take in displaced Gazans during the territory's reconstruction, but both regimes would rather swallow broken glass than grant citizenship or even a foothold of large numbers to Palestinians, whose cause they celebrate but whose people they routinely denigrate. Trump's scheme also conflicts with an essential component of Israeli ethos. The country prides itself on defending itself by itself, as home to the formerly persecuted
Starting point is 00:15:11 people no longer reliant on foreign powers for its security, Rosenberg wrote. But as flawed as Trump's proposed solution is, it does identify a real problem. With significant revisions, this proposal could contain a semblance of something workable. Temporarily housing Gazans in dignified conditions elsewhere, while the devastated territory is rebuilt under the watchful eyes of America and its allies, would provide the Gazan people with much deserved relief while depriving Hamas of its source of power and income. In forward, Dan Perry asked, is Trump's proposal for the U.S. to take over Gaza really as ludicrous as it sounds?
Starting point is 00:15:49 Trump's idea is, however fantastical, would reshuffle the deck completely. How exactly he might intend for the U.S. to take over management of the territory and rebuild it magnificently is unclear. Even more unclear, who exactly would benefit from this dubiously thought-out plan, Perry wrote? Clearly not Hamas, which might be one reason Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was in Washington, D.C. today to meet with Trump, would get on board, and clearly not those Palestinian civilians who prefer to stay in their home. Trump is not entirely wrong in saying that Gaza is unlivable, even before the current war, conditions in
Starting point is 00:16:25 the Strip were dire. Under Hamas rule, the population has been impoverished. Now, after over a year of Israeli bombardment, the destruction in the tiny strip of land is staggering," Perry wrote. But forcing Palestinians out of Gaza would be an act of ethnic cleansing and a war crime under international law. The truth is that permanently displacing a significant number of Palestinians from Gaza or any part of Palestinian territory would almost certainly create more problems than it solves. All right, let's head for what the left and the right are saying, which brings me to my take. As a non-practicing American Jew, I've always been conflicted in how I think about
Starting point is 00:17:19 Israel. A little bit of background with me. I refused to go on my birthright trip. I believe legitimate criticism of Israel is too often dismissed as anti-Semitism and I've always felt uncomfortable about Israel's status as both a democracy and a country with an official religion. At the same time, I do personally place more blame on Hamas for the continuance of violence in the region and I don't believe the Jews who have settled in Israel, many of whom were relocated there after the Holocaust by a degree not of their own making, are perpetrators of colonialism. This is an issue I'm coming into with humility, knowing that I don't have a ton of personal connection to Israel or Palestine. I know the history, I know the news, and I know what our editorial team thinks,
Starting point is 00:18:05 but I don't know everything. One thing I do know, however, is that solutions to the Israel-Palestine conflict are going to involve some concessions from one or both sides. There is no perfect solution. Having said all that, Trump's proposal has an incredible amount of problems. In fact, I think it's one of his worst ideas yet. To help clarify my thoughts here, I've bucketed my criticisms and questions into seven different categories, starting with number one, ethnic cleansing. A UN commission investigating crimes against humanity
Starting point is 00:18:39 in Yugoslavia defined ethnic cleansing as rendering an area ethnically homogenous by using force or intimidation to remove persons or given groups from the area. That's an accurate description of Trump wants to do in Gaza. What else would we call it? And where are the Gazans going to go? Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and even the West Bank all reject this plan.
Starting point is 00:19:07 One of Gaza's defining characteristics is that over 80% of its inhabitants are descendants of people displaced following the 1948 war. That history is part of what makes Gazans so committed to staying in place. But Trump wants to run that back. Two, peacemaking. When Trump brokered the Abraham Accords that normalize relations between Israel and several Arab countries, he won well-earned plaudits for his deal-making. When an envoy from his incoming administration helped broker a peace deal between Israel and Hamas three weeks and one lifetime ago, it launched a thousand takes that have already
Starting point is 00:19:44 aged past their shelf lives. Israeli writers speculated that Trump may next help Israel normalize relations with Saudi Arabia, and conservative American writers were saying that Trump supporters would be disappointed by the president's lack of delicosity in the region. Now, the route of peacemaking he's pursuing is making one of the two sides just go away. That's not peacemaking. It's domination. And it's a means of diplomacy that tends to create the preconditions for future conflicts.
Starting point is 00:20:14 Three, nation-building. It's almost a presidential cliche to try to broker a legacy defining peace in the Middle East deal so the region is familiar with US diplomatic involvement, but US boots on the ground in Israel or Palestine is a different matter entirely. The same president who criticized nation building in Afghanistan and wanted to avoid conflict in Ukraine now wants to take over Gazan reconstruction. In the words of Dan Shapiro, US ambassadorS. Ambassador to Israel during the Obama administration, it's not a serious proposal. Shapiro goes on to say, if ever pursued, it would entail a massive cost in dollars and U.S. troops with no support from key regional
Starting point is 00:20:57 partners. Four, Israeli security. An argument that Isaac has advanced since the beginning of this war is that trying to destroy Hamas through a strategy of maximal aggression in Gaza is actually making Israelis and Jews less safe by further destabilizing the region and drawing other adversaries into the conflict. Trump's proposal dials up that aggression. It imperils the hostage return deal and it further cements that the next generation of Palestinians will view Israel as a hated enemy, but just adds
Starting point is 00:21:31 the US alongside them. To quote Isaac, Israel has not sown the seeds of peace, but has instead ensured that another generation of Palestinians will live through heartbreak and war and watch their friends and family die in front of them, which will make forgiveness or reconciliation with Israel next to impossible. Yes, Trump's plan isn't to kill Palestinians, but forced resettlement will still be dangerous and deadly, likely incurring the same effect. 5. Poor communication.
Starting point is 00:22:03 Trump's ambiguity in his wording is often a feature, not a bug. But more often than not, it's just a problem. Trump tends to push interpretations of his statements towards the poles of either optimistically brushing him off on one extreme or paranoia on the other, depending on the person or the topic. For me, on this topic, it creates paranoia. What exactly does Trump mean by, quote, we're going to take it over? When would we leave? Would we leave? Are we seriously trampling on the many international compacts we are party to and invading Gaza? The White House's mixed
Starting point is 00:22:43 messages aren't helping to provide clarity. Press Secretary Caroline Levitt says Trump wants to remove Gazans from the strip permanently, but Trump also literally said he wants to permanently relocate them and then rebuild Gaza, quote, for the world's people. Should we optimistically brush this off as bluster or paranoically infer that Gaza will be for Israel? Six, Israel's culpability. Trump consistently phrased this descriptions of Gaza to avoid apportioning any amount of responsibility to Israel. Gaza is, quote, a demolition site, but demolished by him. Quote, Gaza is a guarantee that they're going to end up dying. End quote, meaning the location itself is hostile to Palestinians.
Starting point is 00:23:32 Gazans have suffered quote, bad luck, meaning that bad things have just happened to occur to them. As I said at the top, I believe that Hamas deserves more than a co-equal responsibility for the suffering of Palestinians as Israel does. That's a position that I'm sure our readers and listeners will criticize, but at least I acknowledge that Israel bears its share of responsibility. Bad luck? Really? 7.
Starting point is 00:24:01 U.S. Resources. This plan would undoubtedly involve U.S. troops, who are also supposedly going to be deployed to the border and assist in the mass deportation of millions of unauthorized migrants from our country. Trump's plan in the Middle East is then to use U.S. troops to forcibly relocate millions more from a country we don't govern to others that we don't govern. A massive increase in an already costly plan for the military. In the words of one of Trump's allies, Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, I don't know that I think it's the best use of United States resources
Starting point is 00:24:33 to spend a bunch of money in Gaza. As for this plan's bright spots, it's really, really hard to find any that don't just amount to now Hamas won't have anything to govern. I've scoured for information and asked members of our editorial staff to look for an answer to this question. What is the best argument in favor of Trump's plan? These two are the best I've got. First, the Middle East needs a bold reimagining of the default set solutions. Second, Trump doesn't literally mean what he's declaring. He's threatening the Middle East by saying,
Starting point is 00:25:07 if you don't handle this, then I'm going to come in and make it an American resort. Sorry, but that's not good enough. A bold new plan doesn't have to be this plan. And he might be bluffing doesn't erase the criticisms of the things he said he wants to do. Acting on this idea would be patently immoral and inhumane to the Palestinians. It has a greater chance of hurting the long-term security of Israel than helping, and it would
Starting point is 00:25:34 come at the cost of US troops, budget, and diplomatic goodwill. Maybe Trump is just negotiating again. Like a poker player who has the biggest stack at the table, keeps getting pocket aces and rushes all in on his opening bet. But I don't understand what he's hoping to gain. I doubt Hamas is going to sign some symbolic gesture to get Trump to go away, like Canada and Mexico did. So now the US is dangerously close to being pot committed in Gaza.
Starting point is 00:26:04 I hope someone in the administration can get Trump to see the brick wall before he runs the country and the region face first into it. But I don't foresee that happening without something he can claim victory on. And I don't know what it will take for Trump to divert course. For now, the plan is still just the plan. All things are subject to change when ideas meet reality and we are still just talking about things that haven't happened yet. But by all accounts, things are not about to get better.
Starting point is 00:26:38 We'll be right back after this quick break. exclusively on FanDuel Casino, where winning is undefeated. 19 plus and physically located in Ontario. Gambling problem? Call 1-866-531-2600 or visit connectsontario.ca. Please play responsibly. With the FIZ loyalty program, you get rewarded just for having a mobile plan. You know, for texting and stuff. And if you're not getting rewards like extra data
Starting point is 00:27:22 and dollars off with your mobile plan, you're not with FIZ. Switch today. Conditions apply. Details at fizz.ca. All right. Thanks for bearing with me as we go deep into this issue. Again, no reader question today for length. So I'm going to send it back over to John for the rest of the pod. I'll talk to you all soon. Have a good one. Thanks, Ari. Here's your under the radar story for today, folks. The share of Americans quitting their jobs has decreased significantly in recent years as the job market cools from pandemic levels. During the COVID-19 pandemic, job openings were robust as the economy started to reopen in 2022.
Starting point is 00:28:05 Many workers sought new opportunities that offered better pay, benefits, and flexibility. This dynamic led over 50 million people to quit their jobs in 2022. But in 2024, job quits decreased 22% from that peak. While the unemployment rate remains low and job growth is consistent, workers no longer have the same quantity and quality of new opportunities. Furthermore, hiring has slowed, and the share of workers hired into new jobs every month fell to an average of 3.5% in 2024, down from nearly 4.4% in 2021.
Starting point is 00:28:40 The Wall Street Journal has this story and there's a link in today's episode description. Alright next up is our numbers section. The total area in square miles of the Gaza Strip is 140. The estimated percentage of buildings in the Gaza Strip that have been damaged during the Israel-Hamas war is 60% according to analysis of satellite data. The number of housing units in Gaza that have been destroyed and damaged respectively during the war is 160,000 and 276,000 according to the United Nations.
Starting point is 00:29:15 The population of Gaza before the war was 2.2 million. The percentage of Americans who say the United States should take an active part in world affairs is 56%, according to a poll from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs released in August of 2024. The percentage of Democrats and Republicans, respectively, who say it would be best for the future of the United States to take an active part in world affairs is 68% and 54%. The percentage of Americans who think the U.S. should play a leading role in the reconstruction of Gaza is 37 percent. And the percentage of Democrats and Republicans respectively who think the U.S. should play a leading role in the reconstruction
Starting point is 00:29:55 of Gaza is 51 percent and 24 percent. All right, and last but not least, our Have a Nice Day story. Animal shelters across the country are encouraging people to spend their Valentine's Day by taking a local shelter dog out on a date. Partnering with Chewy, Shelters Help the event helps people find the right adoption for them and inspires more people to foster pets. Participants will receive a Chewy Date Kit containing treats, toys, and poop bags to secure a successful date. This event offers shelter dogs a break from their kennels and gives them a fun day meant
Starting point is 00:30:30 to be filled with love. Chewy has more information available on its website which you can find in a link in today's episode description. Alright, that is it for today's episode. As always, if you'd like to support our work, please go to RETANGLE.COM and sign up for a membership. You can also go to TangleMedia.Supercast.com to sign up for a premium podcast membership, which gets you ad-free daily podcasts, Friday editions, Sunday editions, interviews, bonus
Starting point is 00:30:53 content and so much more. There is a lot of content coming out from premium podcast subscribers, including an interview with Stephen Hawkins, director of research at More in Common. Several more interviews are coming out in the following weeks, including one with a sitting senator. And of course, we'll still be talking politics, playing games, and having a good time on the Sunday podcasts.
Starting point is 00:31:12 Those pieces of content are gonna be exclusively available for premium podcast subscribers. For those of you without memberships, we do have some previews that are gonna be available for you to take advantage of, so you can get a sense of the kind of work that we're doing here at Tangle. We'll be right back here tomorrow for Ari, Will and the rest of the crew. This is John Moe signing off. Have a fantastic weekend y'all. Peace.
Starting point is 00:31:33 Our podcast is written by me, Isaac Saul and edited and engineered by Duke Thomas. Our script is edited by Ari Weitzman, Will Kavak, Gailie Saul and Sean Brady. The logo for our podcast was made by Magdalena Bikova, who is also our social media manager. The music for the podcast was produced by Diet75. And if you're looking for more from Tangle, please go check out our website at ReadTangle.com. That's ReadTangle.com. Hey, you're a Canadian podcast listener, and that makes you important to us. We'd like to know more about you, what you think of this podcast, and the other podcasts you'd like to hear. So we put together a super brief survey we'd like you to fill out, complete it,
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Starting point is 00:32:48 And if you're not getting rewards like extra data and dollars off with your mobile plan, you're not with FIZ. Switch today. Conditions apply. Details at FIZ.ca.

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