The two Americans who became infected with ebola "must suffer the consequences" and be prevented from returning to the United States and potentially life-saving treatment, Donald Trump has said.
In another comment that makes it strange to think Trump was seriously mooted as a candidate to be president, Trump said Dr Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, both aid workers, should be made to stay in West Africa where they volunteered to go to fight the worst outbreak of the disease ever.
This is despite the fact the fatal disease, which has killed at least 729 people, is not airborne and is spread through fluids - and, once in America, the pair will be treated in one of the most sophisticated hospital units in the world.
So far in this outbreak, the disease has killed around 60% of those it has infected.
Trump also referred to the oubtreak as a "plague" and retweeted a tweet from someone saying they had not faith in America's Center For Disease Control (CDC).
Dr Brantly is currently en route to the US for treatment - it is the first time a person infected with the virus, which was first documented in 1976, has been transported into the US.
Nancy Writebol is expected to follow a few days later.
On arrival, they will be taken to a specialized unit at Emory University Hospital, which is one of the most sophisticated in the country, was opened 12 years ago to care for those exposed to some of the world's most dangerous germs.
They are traveling in a private jet that is equipped with a portable tent designed for patients with highly infectious diseases.
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Dr Brantly, a devout Christian, has said he is "terrified" at being infected with Ebola and is "fervently praying to God" that he will survive.
"It's a very stressful time," his mother Jan told The Daily Mail.
"Kent is a fine young man, very compassionate, doing what he's prepared all his life to do. He's placed his life in the hands of a loving God and our love in that God that sustains us.
"We pray constantly for him and we solicit the prayer of the whole world. He's a brave man. He's doing what he's doing to serve his God and we are asking people to pray."
"Kent prepared himself to be a lifetime medical missionary," she told the Associated Press. "His heart is in Africa."