Aides to former President Donald Trump believe they're responsible for the death of Herman Cain, who rose to political prominance after running for the GOP nomination in 2012.
In journalist Jonathan Karl's forthcoming book, Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show, one senior Trump staffer told ABC News' Will Steakin, 'We killed Herman Cain,' according to an excerpt in Vanity Fair.
The 74-year-old Cain had attended Trump's June 20, 2020 indoor rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, before succumbing to COVID-19 on July 30.
Cain, who led the Black Voices for Trump coalition, was photographed at the indoor rally unmasked, surrounded by people.
In the run-up to the disastrous rally - which was plagued by low attendance and a controversy over the campaign's original plan to hold it on Juneteenth, in a city known for the country's worst episode of racial violence - a number of campaign staff and Secret Service tested positive for the virus.
Aides to former President Donald Trump believe they're responsible for the death of Herman Cain (center), after the 74-year-old former GOP presidential hopeful died of COVID, after being spotted maskless at Trump's June 2020 Tulsa, Oklahoma indoor rally
New details about Trump's disastrous Tulsa rally (pictured) are included in journalist Jonathan Karl's forthcoming book, Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show, including that eight staffers tested positive for the virus the morning of the event
It would be months before any Americans were vaccinated against the disease.
While NBC News reported that six members of staff tested positive for the coronavirus ahead of the rally, Karl's book puts that number at eight individuals.
After that, Karl wrote, the campaign demanded that aides stop getting tested, for fear even bigger numbers would be reported to the press.
Additionally, Karl reported that Trump's staff had partied together the night before the rally at the restaurant bar at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Tulsa.
'Nobody bothered to keep their distance or wear masks,' the veteran ABC White House correspondent wrote. 'As it turned out, the virus wasn't just spreading across the country - it was also spreading among the Trump campaign staff.'
Those who tested positive were told to return to Washington, D.C. in rental cars - as opposed to quarantining for two weeks.
'There was a car
