A former Alcatraz prisoner doubts that President Trump is serious about reopening the prison.
"I don't think he wants to reopen it; he's trying to draw attention to the crime rate. When I was on Alcatraz, a rat couldn't survive," former Alcatraz inmate Charlie Hopkins told ABC-7 New York.
Hopkins, who is now in his 90s, served 11 years in the San Francisco island prison for participating in a robbery ring. Hopkins noted that the prison, which closed in 1963, is too old to renovate, according to The Independent.
Over the weekend, Trump posted on social media his belief that Alcatraz should reopen. Trump wrote that he would direct the Bureau of Prisons, the Department of Justice, the FBI, and Homeland Security "to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America's most ruthless and violent Offenders."
Several people voiced skepticism of Trump's plan.
"I think it's one of the stupidest ideas I've ever heard in my life. It would cost billions to refit this building. It's not even earthquake proof, you guys have earthquakes in California," said tourist Nanc Evans, who was visiting Alcatraz, according to ABC-7 New York.
"There's a lot we could use money on, besides renovating an ancient crumbling museum on an island," said San Francisco Assemblyman Matt Haney, according to the station.
The Independent noted that the extreme weather of the Pacific and the saltwater took a physical toll on the prison when it operated from 1934 to 1963. Also, because Alcatraz was an island, provisioning it and maintaining it was costly. The newspaper reported that the cost to run Alcatraz was roughly three times as high as other prisons when it operated.
Former House Speaker and San Francisco resident Nancy Pelosi reacted on social media, describing Trump's plan as "not a serious proposal."
