I’ve seen this rather odd trend with trump (and the media) where they are talking about plans for ethnic cleansing in gaza and taking mineral resources from east Ukraine.
But the US or its proxies don’t physically control Gaza or the Donbass, and nobody in the media seems to be talking about this rather important complication. Russia and the palestian resistance, for all intents and purposes, have won their respective wars (for now).
Trump just needs/wants to look strong, manly, in control. It excites his base and he thrives on whatever attention he gets, good or bad. It has nothing to do with getting what he wants from the target of these demands. It’s also the foot-in-the-door technique scaled way up, with the added bonus that by the time he’s “settled” for less than what he asked for, the news cycle will have fixated on the next absurd thing he said or did.