President Donald Trump and his team are scrambling to justify the President's recent musing as to whether a cure for the virus could come from injecting or otherwise ingesting disinfectant.
The President made the comments in a Thursday afternoon press briefing following a presentation on the ways disinfectant can kill the virus on shared surfaces like door knobs and kitchen counters.
The President wondered aloud whether or not the same disinfectant could somehow be applied to human bodies, first suggesting injection.
Watch below.
The President inquires about injecting disinfectant? https://t.co/75kGQkD0h7— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn Torabi) 1587680298.0
The President said:
"I see the disinfectant knocks it out in a minute, one minute. Is there a way we can do something like that? By injection inside or almost a cleaning? Cause you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it'd be interesting to check that. You're gonna have to use medical doctors, right? But it sounds interesting to me."
Efforts to spin the remarks have contradicted each other.
The President's latest Press Secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, said Trump's remarks were taken out of context.
Trump, on the other hand, said he was being sarcastic.
Watch below.
"I was asking a sarcastic, & a very sarcastic question, to the reporters in the room about disinfectant on the inside. But it does kill it." -- Trump tries to rewrite history, says he was speaking "sarcastically" when he mused about disinfectant injections being cure for Covid. pic.twitter.com/bWRU8EV6FZ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 24, 2020
Trump said in his defense:
"I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you just to see what would happen...I was asking a sarcastic and a very sarcastic question, to the reporters in the room about disinfectant on the inside."
People weren't buying it since they saw with their own eyes that Trump earnestly asked his medical experts to research the viability of doing it.
Even Bret Baier of Fox News scoffed at the idea.
“Special Report' anchor Bret Baier says President Trump's trademark riffs are 'problematic' when it comes to discus… https://t.co/XArCei8dzo— Bret Baier (@Bret Baier) 1587761994.0
Baier was asked his thoughts on the attempted defense, and at first could only muster a sigh.
He continued:
"Well, that's not how it looked in the briefing and not how it came across in the briefing. What's problematic for this President is that sometimes he goes on these riffs and when you're dealing with medical things, statements, when you're riffing from a podium, sometime that works great on other topics...but when riffing about possible cures or treatments, it didn't seem like he was coming off as sarcastic when he was talking and turning to Dr. Birx on the side...The President does get himself into these issues."
People agreed that Trump's sarcasm in the moment was nonexistent.
C’mon, Biff. You know you were being filmed when you said it, right? In no way whatsoever were you: A. Being sar… https://t.co/zFSnS1EopU— Chris Evans (@Chris Evans) 1587751815.0
What about the part where you made Dr. Birx try and confirm your stupidity. And what about the part where you had t… https://t.co/LgcJPFLWor— Mika Brzezinski (@Mika Brzezinski) 1587748945.0
Just so the current occupant of the White House is clear, we all watched your dangerous suggestion in real time. I… https://t.co/13YSsTc8Ct— Fred Guttenberg (@Fred Guttenberg) 1587752914.0
Hey Siri, what is gaslighting? https://t.co/Q1WKlXhppD— Thomas Horrocks (@Thomas Horrocks) 1587753979.0
This is a lie. Everybody who watched knew he was deadly serious. We all saw it. https://t.co/zlFjMFfWnw— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie Garrett) 1587752110.0
Others pointed out that even if Trump was telling the truth, discussing potential cures for a virus that's killed over 50 thousand Americans isn't a place for the country's leader to engage in sarcasm.
Only his toadies believe @realDonaldTrump was being #sarcastic. Even if he was, a nationally televised press brie… https://t.co/W2Ev8gFJbZ— Eric Swalwell (@Eric Swalwell) 1587759821.0
Dear @realDonaldTrump: When you speak on TV, you are talking directly to the people. I rewatched your statements to… https://t.co/FKognXk6PJ— Ted Lieu (@Ted Lieu) 1587752147.0
No one believes this. And even if it were true it would still be reckless and dangerous. https://t.co/I7c65Ttd75— Mimi Rocah (@Mimi Rocah) 1587749570.0
Trump was lying, yet again.
For a deeper look into Trump's White House, check out A Very Stable Genius, available here.