Trump wanted Covid-19 patients sent to Guantanamo, according to explosive new book

Trump left staff astounded when he suggested sending Americans abroad who had been infected with the coronavirus to the notorious detention camp, according to a book set for release next week

World

2 min read

The New Arab Staff

22 June, 2021

The US under Trump saw the highest Covid-19 death rates in the world [Getty]

Former US President Donald Trump suggested that Americans abroad who had been infected with the coronavirus should be sent to the infamous Guantanamo Bay detention camp for quarantine, a soon-to-be-released book has claimed.

Trump left staff astounded when he suggested the location at a situation room meeting in February 2020, according to a claim in "Nightmare Scenario: Inside the Trump Administration’s Response to the Pandemic That Changed History", written by Yasmeen Abutaleb and Damian Paletta, reporters for The Washington Post, about the White House's chaotic response to the pandemic.

The book, due to be published at the end of June, uses interviews with more than 180 people, including White House senior staff members and government health leaders to tell of the failures that made the US the world's worst-affected by Covid-19.

Guantanamo Bay was opened in January 2002 as a prison for people suspected of links to Al-Qaeda. The Cuban coastal prison has been tarred by accusations of extra-legal imprisonment, denial of rights, and torture ever since.

Former President Barack Obama promised to shut the prison within his first 100 days of office, but it was no closer to closure after his two terms in the White House. The approved release of a number of long-time Guantanamo prisoners has raised expectations that President Joe Biden might try to close the facility.

Trump was lambasted for his responses to the coronavirus pandemic including his suggestion of research into whether the injection of disinfectants could help fight the coronavirus. He tested positive for the coronavirus in October 2020, spending the weekend in hospital.

Trump went on the offensive against the World Health Organisation (WHO) early in the pandemic, repeatedly threatening to cut their funding because of its "grossly inaccurate or misleading" information. He gave a year's notice of withdrawal from the body in July 2020. Washington is the organisation's main funder.