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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP played down a furore over his suggestion that people could try injecting disinfectants to fight the novel coronavirus, claiming he was being sarcastic.
“I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you, just to see what would happen,” he told journalists at the White House.
During a press conference late Thursday, Trump turned to government scientists in the room and asked them about the role of disinfectants in killing the coronavirus.
“It knocks (the virus) out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs,” he said.
Trump now says he was talking to a journalist, putting “a very sarcastic question to a reporter.” You can watch the exchange here:
In fact, he was talking directly to a Department of Homeland Security official in the briefing room, Bill Bryan.
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Sitting alongside Bryan was top White House coronavirus medical advisor Dr Deborah Birx.
Trump often spars with journalists at his daily briefings and he did again yesterday, calling two of them “fake.” He also repeated his regular complaints that the media does not treat him fairly and plays down his accomplishments.
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However, when discussing the injections, Trump had not even reached the question-and-answer stage of his briefing, and the whole discussion was between him and other officials.
Trump’s comment about disinfectants prompted a strong backlash from scientists who said not only would this not work, but it was very dangerous, too.
I can’t believe I have to say this, but please don’t drink bleach.
The parent group of popular household product Lysol said in a statement that “under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route).”
When asked at the Department of Health briefing tonight, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said that nobody should listen to suggestions by Trump that injecting bleach may be a cure for Covid-19.
It’s not good advice. It’s not something anyone should do. It’s really unsafe and dangerous.
The White House spokeswoman, Kayleigh McEnany, said the media had taken “President Trump out of context,” but did not say he was being sarcastic.
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@Maurice O Neill: who are these supposed PC brigade that you’re on about? The President of the US suggested injecting disinfectant should be explored and the scientific world were appalled. The man is a blow hard moron, as indeed it seems are you.
@Maurice O Neill: Seriously?? Tell me this so , when is he not being “ sarcastic “ then? Or do we just take it he’s “ extracting the urine” every time he opens that tiny tiny mouth of his?
@:
You’re being too kind by saying that you “think” he doesn’t know what sarcastic means, He doesn’t know what sarcastic means, he doesn’t have that capability.
@nelliekel: there’s no way his advisors told him to say that because it’s so ridiculous an excuse as to be an insult to their own intelligence and, also, The Don would neither seek nor listen to their advice in the first place. That has often been his problem.
@Mary Fitzsimons: He’s an elected representative. He is not an employee. Elected representatives are not hired and fired. Employees are not elected. Unless you are speaking figuratively?
How far out of context do you have to take a comment to get to that point?. He made a tit out of himself on national television and some fella working in dettol had to type up a statement telling people not to consume the produce, imagine answering your wife’s question of how was your day honey with that. This is reminder that even when things return to normal as long as trump is president there is no real normal
@2thFairy: I’m sorry to be pedantic but its pathological liar.. a pathologist is a physician who studies body fluids and tissues and makes a diagnosis about your health or any medical problems you have.. I think Trump thinks hes a doctor though so could have been on your mind!
Even if I believe him, which I don’t, using sarcasm during a press conference about Corona virus and on the day when the USA death total hit 50,000 is a great idea.
I remember Tommy Tiernan saying about pro BREXIT voters. That about 50% of the population are not clever. That they should take the warning off the bottle of bleach that says ‘do not drink’ and have another vote in 6 months. Looks like Joe Biden will be the next president!
@Adam Col: I’m thinking that He is a looney,only a pure Gobsihte would make a remark like that , and coming fromPresident of US , well now , the lights are on, but nobody home.
He’s just walked out of the Friday briefing. He has obviously wimped out on answering questions on his nonsensical disinfectant/ultra-violet pontificating yesterday. These briefings are increasingly negative for him so I’m all in favor of them continuing.
How does he get away with the stupidity that rolls off his tongue ? And the White House staff just stand there, looking like they are wishing the ground would open up and take them.
Just when you thought it cant be that bad. We elected people like Trump and Boris and even Leo because we thought ” what the worst that can happen ” it all seemed like a good idea when there was nothing really important for them to do, then all of a sudden Coronavirus comes along and we think Christ what have we done putting these total clowns in charge. Now we wish we had not treated politics like an episode of the X factor picking the one with the daftist hair or the funny things that come out of there mouth. Please can we never make this mistake again, only put people in important jobs that we need in war time situation based on there ability to do the job and not because they were in a film once or because there on a game show.. real life decisions need real people not reality stars
“I was been sarcastic, very sarcastic, most sarcastic person ever, you know I’m sarcastic. You know the sun, the sun it kills the virus. Although injecting chemicals into your body is not bad, it’s sometimes a good thing, I’m a smart, you know, guy. Look at my colour! you don’t just get it from the sun, you also need chemicals. I love tattoo people I really do and those Saloon people they are really the best people”
My friends sister attempted suicide by drinking disenfectant, the damage was horrendous both physical and mental. Extremely distressing.
As for UV(c) as a treatment …..well I’m sorry to say but the effects of exposure is even worse !
All this requirement for leadership, decisiveness and basic intelligence discourse is proving very problematic for Trump, even after using his emergency back up plan, “make Mike Pence the secret president, he manages the crisis, does the day to day stuff, such as my job, but I still get to run the press conferences“.
Just curious why there isn’t the same level of scrutiny in the Irish media about our own government as there is about the UK and US? We can read articles about Trump and Johnson anywhere.
Our minister for health waffled on about there being no vaccines for 18 imaginary coronaviruses on national radio. He then spouted nonsense about how scientists are working on about five vaccines for this virus. He clearly had no idea what he was talking about. Then he laughs it off and says “I can be an awful auld eejit” and it’s just forgotten about. While there was a story about this here it was hardly an in depth analysis on his incompetency. This virus has been here for two months now and he doesn’t even know the basics about it. The same Irish people who bash Trump wouldn’t dare to question the incompetency of our own government.
Anyone who believes Donald Trump’s theory and believes it to be true should go ahead & test it out, see what happens the gene pool of these lowlifes will be lowered even more, result!
So the people that defended his comments yesterday, (out of context,scientists are actually looking into it etc) now have to defend his defending of his own comments to the fictional reporter!?
Can we just admit he’s an idiot once and for all?
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