Former President Donald Trump wanted COVID-19 to kill his former national security adviser John Bolton, according to an upcoming book.
Axios obtained an excerpt of the book, “Nightmare Scenario,” written by Washington Post journalist Yasmeen Abutaleb and Damian Paletta.
The excerpt reads, “Trump had tried to joke about the virus for months, sometimes even mocking people who had become ill.”
The book continues:
“At one meeting several months [before Trump got sick], NEC director Larry Kudlow had stifled a cough. The room had frozen.. … Trump had waved his hands in front of his face, as if to jokingly ward off any flying virus particles, and then cracked a smile. ‘I was just kidding,’ he’d said. ‘Larry will never get COVID. He will defeat it with his optimism.’ … ‘John Bolton,’ he had said … ‘Hopefully COVID takes out John.'”
According to Axios, the authors believe the sources “thought Trump was deadly serious.” The book is set to be released next week.
Bolton has spoken out against Trump, previously saying the Republican Party should figure out how to “remove the taint of what Trump has done, how to repair the damage.”
According to the upcoming book, Trump also reportedly previously suggested that he wanted to send Americans infected with the virus to Guantanamo Bay.
He asked while in the Situation Room in February 2020, “Don’t we have an island that we own?” He added, “What about Guantánamo?” according to The Washington Post, which obtained a copy of the book.
Trump also reportedly said, “We import goods. We are not going to import a virus.”
The former president tested positive for COVID-19 in October 2020. Additionally, former First Lady Melania Trump and other officials and politicians tested positive for the virus.
The U.S. has seen a 21% decrease in a 14-day change of new COVID-19 cases reported, according to The New York Times. COVID-19-related deaths and hospitalizations have also seen a decline.
