Former President Trump considered dropping bombs on Mexican drug labs after a top public health official urged him to do so, according to a new book.
The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman revealed in her forthcoming book, “Confidence Man,” that Trump brought the idea up several times and questioned Defense Secretary Mark Esper about the possibility of bombing the labs.
The Post, which obtained a copy of Haberman’s book, reported then-Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir suggested the bombing to Trump. Giroir reportedly told Trump that the United States should put “lead to target” to stop illegal drugs from coming across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Haberman wrote that White House aides did not try to change Trump’s view on dropping the bombs, according to the newspaper, but tried to urge the president to consider asking Giroir, a former four-star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service, not to wear his dress uniform into the Oval Office, as he often did when meeting with Trump.
Trump did not immediately return a request from The Hill for comment. Giroir did not immediately return a request from The Hill for comment through the biopharmaceutical company he leads, Altesa BioSciences. The Post, however, noted that Giroir said in an email that he doesn’t comment on private conversations with Trump and criticized the drug flow at the border with Mexico.
Trump earlier this year voiced support for imposing the death penalty as punishment for convicted drug dealers.
“The penalties should be very, very severe. If you look at countries throughout the world, the ones that don’t have a drug problem are ones that institute a very quick trial death penalty sentence for drug dealers,” Trump said in a speech in which he laid out a series of drastic measures to curb crime.
“It sounds horrible, doesn’t it? But you know what? That’s the ones that don’t have any problem. It doesn’t take 15 years in court. It goes quickly, and you absolutely — you execute a drug dealer, and you’ll save 500 lives,” Trump added.
“It’s terrible to say, but you take a look at every country in this world that doesn’t have a problem with drugs, they have a very strong death penalty for people that sell drugs,” he said.
Haberman’s book, which is set to be released on Tuesday, covers Trump’s time in New York and as president and details interactions he had with world leaders, members of Congress and his own advisers.