Dr. Deborah Birx is sharing her thoughts about the moment when former President Donald Trump suggested potentially injecting disinfectant into people to treat COVID-19.
Speaking about the moment, Birx said during ABC’s “The Breakdown” Monday, “Frankly, I didn’t know how to handle that episode.”
“I still think about it every day,” she added.
Birx continued, “You can see how extraordinarily uncomfortable I was. Those of you who have served in the military know that there are discussions you have in private with your commanding officers and there’s discussions you had in public.”
As the Trump administration combatted the coronavirus pandemic, Birx was the White House coronavirus task force coordinator. She has since stepped down from her White House role and took a private-sector job.
Watch the video below:
"You can see how extraordinarily uncomfortable I was," Dr. Deborah Birx says about the moment last year when she sat silently while former Pres. Trump raised the possibility of injecting disinfectant into people to treat COVID-19. https://t.co/Ta7pOW03jI pic.twitter.com/XQfPJ5NZs6
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) March 15, 2021
It should be noted that the adviser William Bryan, head of science and technology at DHS, went along with what Trump proposed.
— Daniel Lewis (@Daniel_Lewis3) April 24, 2020
The moment Birx touched on was when Trump spoke in the White House briefing room in April 2020 where he said, “I see the disinfectant that knocks it 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 inside the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that.”
His remarks immediately sparked push back from experts warning against injecting disinfectant such as bleach.
Trump walked back his comments, saying he was being sarcastic.
“I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you just to see what would happen,” he told reporters at the White House.
This is not the first time Birx has spoken out about her time working under the Trump administration.
She previously told CBS’s Margaret Brennan that Trump was receiving a “parallel set of data” on the coronavirus pandemic.
“I saw the president presenting graphs that I never made. So I know that someone, or someone out there, or someone inside was creating a parallel set of data and graphics that were shown to the president,” Birx said.
Birx also revealed she “always” considered quitting under the Trump administration.
“I had to ask myself every morning, is there something that I think I can do that would be helpful in responding to this pandemic?” Birx told Brennan.