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Trump lied: "I've been to Gaza" ✈️❌

Slick Willie hit the Gaza Strip in '98—last commander-in-chief to brave the sandpit!

Published October 11, 2024 at 5:01am by

Donald Trump

Statement: Of Gaza, “I’ve been there.”

Well, folks, buckle up because former President Donald Trump dropped a bombshell during an interview on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. He claimed he'd visited Gaza.

Conservative radio show host Hugh Hewitt asked if Gaza could become the next Monaco if rebuilt the right way, making it a place Palestinians would be proud of. Trump, in his typical larger-than-life style, said it could be "better than Monaco."

"It could be the most beautiful place," Trump declared. "It’s got the best location in the Middle East, the best water, the best everything. It's the best, I've said it for years. You know when — I’ve been there, and it’s rough. It’s a rough place, before all of the attacks and before the back and forth what’s happened over the last couple of years."

We tried to get to the bottom of Trump's Gaza visit, asking the Trump campaign for details. Their response? Classic Trumpian vagueness.

"President Trump has been to Gaza previously and has always worked to ensure peace in the Middle East," said Karoline Leavitt, a Trump campaign spokesperson. "He negotiated the historic Abraham Accords and brought stability to the region, which has unfortunately been destabilized again due to the Harris-Biden Administration’s weakness."

During Trump’s presidency, the Abraham Accords normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and some Arab countries, but Gaza was not included.

The liberal media giants, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN, couldn't find any evidence of Trump's visit. Neither could we. Several experts confirmed there's no record of Trump visiting Gaza as president.

Trump-appointed former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker told CNN: "As far as I know, he’s never traveled there. He did not go in 2017 when he visited Israel."

A Trump campaign official who spoke to the Times on the condition of anonymity said: "Gaza is in Israel. President Trump has been to Israel."

Newsflash: Gaza is not in Israel. Israel has occupied Gaza since 1967 after the Six-Day War, but it’s never been annexed.

Trump visited the West Bank

Trump has been to the West Bank, a territory occupied by Israel and home to Palestinians. On May 23, 2017, Trump met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem, according to the State Department record. No mention of Gaza in that record.

Bill Clinton visited Gaza

The last U.S. president to visit Gaza was Bill Clinton. On Dec. 14, 1998, Clinton delivered a speech to the Palestinian National Council in Gaza City, stating, "This is a remarkable day. Today the eyes of the world are on you. I am profoundly honored to be the first American president to address the Palestinian people in a city governed by Palestinians."

Clinton cut the ribbon for the Gaza International Airport and stood alongside Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. That was a huge deal for the Palestinians: world recognition, the promise of peace, and statehood.

Daniel Kurtzer, a former ambassador to Israel and Egypt, remarked, "The security situation in Gaza, even before Oct. 7, was enough of a reason for presidents not to visit. The other reason was/is the fact that the Palestinian Authority headquarters is in Ramallah in the West Bank."

Clinton visited during a relatively peaceful time. No president has been there since, largely due to security concerns. The State Department has repeatedly warned Americans to avoid Gaza.

Hamas, a designated terrorist group, formed in Gaza in the 1980s. Their deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, was the worst in decades.

PolitiFact's ruling

Trump said he had been to Gaza.

His campaign provided no evidence. The State Department’s log doesn’t list Gaza as a place Trump visited. Multiple experts confirmed that Clinton was the last U.S. president to visit Gaza.

We rate Trump’s statement False.

PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this fact-check.

Our sources

Read more: Fact-check: Trump said he has been to Gaza. That’s false.