Former President Donald Trump is under fire Monday ahead of the release of a new book, “Nightmare Scenario: Inside the Trump Administration’s Response to the Pandemic That Changed History,” which claims he had suggested sending Americans infected with COVID-19 to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The book, written by Washington Post reporters Damian Paletta and Yasmeen Abutaleb, details the Trump administration’s flawed response to the pandemic.
Trump's suggestion reportedly took place in February 2020 during a meeting in the situation room. At the time, the administration was discussing whether to allow infected Americans home for care.
“Don’t we have an island that we own?” the president allegedly asked. “What about Guantanamo?”
Trump’s aides were reportedly shocked when he made the suggestion a second time and shut down the idea out of fear of backlash from placing American tourists on the same Caribbean base where terrorists are imprisoned.
The controversy caused an uproar on Twitter on Monday, with many Americans slamming the mere thought of considering the detention camp as an option for sick Americans.
“Trump reportedly wanted to send Americans infected with COVID to Guantanamo Bay. What kind of ridiculous, horrific, fascist thinking is that? Oh yeah...the exact kind that you can expect from Trump,” one post read.
Another social media user questioned whether Trump would have stayed at the detention center after he and his family caught COVID-19. “So if Trump was considering sending infected Covid patients to Guantanamo Bay last year would he have gone himself? Sent Melania?” read the tweet.
The book will touch on details uncovered in interviews with more than 180 people, including government health leaders and White House senior staff members.
Other topics include Trump’s issues with several officials in his administration, his reaction to the COVID-19 testing crisis and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s decision to track cases.
The book is set for release on June 29.
As president Donald Trump repeatedly attacked Democrats including Adam Schiff of leaking embarrassing details on the investigation into his campaign's alleged collusion with Russia Photo: AFP / MANDEL NGAN
