Wife Of American Held Hostage By Taliban Hopes For Her Husband’s Return Under Trump

Anna Corbett continues to fight for the release of her husband, an American businessman who has been held hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan for three-and-a-half years.

Corbett talked to Morning Wire for an interview that aired on Saturday, opening up about her confusion and frustration over the Biden administration’s failure to secure the release of her husband, Ryan. In the final days of Biden’s time in office, the administration has been attempting to negotiate a deal to exchange a terrorist held in Guantanamo Bay for Ryan, along with two other hostages held by the Taliban.

Anna told Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley that she recently spoke with President Joe Biden over the phone, but the conversation led her to believe that Biden would not “be bringing Ryan home.”

“It was a difficult call. I had just received a call from Biden in the morning. I was traveling. There was a lot in my head and a lot of hope going into that call,” Anna said. “And although he was kind and sympathetic to our family and obviously tracking the situation … he did not seem to be bringing Ryan home, and taking a deal on the table was devastating and obviously very disappointing.”

Anna also said it was “disappointing just to have a phone call” with Biden after requesting to meet with him for months. Asked what’s stopping Biden from striking a deal, Anna replied, “I don’t know. I am honestly very confused because I have raised a lot of attention and advocated very hard for Ryan, taken 16 trips to D. C., worked in a very bipartisan way, helped pass a House and a Senate resolution, and I’m surprised that more progress wasn’t made during this administration.”

Anna and the couple’s three children are now hoping that a new administration led by President Donald Trump, who takes over on Monday, will be able to secure the release of Ryan. In a statement to The Daily Wire last June, Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said that only Trump “can negotiate the safe return of hostages like Ryan Corbett back to his family.”

“President Trump brought more Americans back home and reunited them with their families because other countries knew not to test him,” said Cheung. “With Biden in office, America is no longer respected on the world stage and has made Americans across the world more vulnerable.”

Anna told Morning Wire that she has already requested to meet with Trump.

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“This past weekend, I flew down to Florida with my oldest daughter, Ketsia, and put in requests to meet with President Trump – unsure of what the outcome of the trip would be, but wanting to do my part in raising awareness for Ryan,” she said.

Anna added that Trump’s incoming National Security Adviser Mike Waltz met with her for “over an hour,” a sharp contrast to her experience with Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

“I had to beg and work so hard to have a meeting with the current National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, and it took 16 months to meet with him,” Anna added.

Corbett and his family first moved to Afghanistan in 2010 and started Bloom Afghanistan, an enterprise focused on improving the war-torn country’s private sector. The Corbett family safely evacuated from Afghanistan when the United States withdrew under Biden’s orders in August 2021, creating a vacuum that the Taliban quickly seized to take power.

About five months after U.S. forces left Afghanistan, Corbett returned to the country by himself to renew his visa and train more staff for his enterprise. He was initially welcomed back to Afghanistan and remained there until August 10, 2022, when he, along with two Afghans and a German colleague, were detained by Taliban forces. While the Afghans were released a month later and Corbett’s German colleague was let go in December 2022, Corbett is still being held hostage, likely for political leverage.

Anna urged people to continue to pray for Ryan’s health and safety, and ultimately his release.

“Until Ryan’s home, we cannot rest and even enjoy the opportunities we have in our freedom here in the States because Ryan’s still being held and has only access to sunlight a couple times a day and has no choices and is missing so much in his family’s life.”