Many senior party leaders chose not to comment on Trump’s vow that the US will ‘take over’ war-ravaged Gaza

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From “problematic” to “a couple of kinks in that slinky” to “a bit of a stretch”, reaction from some Republicans who weighed in on Donald Trump’s proposal to “own” Gaza was mostly muted on Wednesday, as many senior party leaders chose to remain silent.

Some of the strongest criticism came from Rand Paul, the Kentucky senator who posted his opposition to the president’s plan on X on Wednesday morning.