President Donald Trump is clarifying his comments after proposing the use of light and disinfectant injections to treat the coronavirus.
Trump first discussed using these agents during the White House coronavirus task force briefing on Thursday, as IJR previously reported.
He alluded to using ultraviolet or “very powerful light” on the body or in the body of someone suffering from the coronavirus.
Trump mentioned using disinfectants “by injection inside or almost a cleaning.”
During the bill signing, Trump was adamant he meant those comments to be sarcastic.
“I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you just to see what would happen,” Trump said.
Watch his comments below:
He reiterated he was asking a sarcastic question to the reporters in terms of using a disinfectant on the inside of the body.
The reporter pointed out Trump asked his task force to look into those options.
He clarified he was asking them to look into whether or not sun and disinfectant on the hands could be useful in killing the coronavirus.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany came to Trump’s defense after he made those comments, as IJR previously reported.
“President Trump has repeatedly said that Americans should consult with medical doctors regarding coronavirus treatment, a point that he emphasized again during yesterday’s briefing,” McEnany said.
She added, “Leave it to the media to irresponsibly take President Trump out of context and run with negative headlines.”
Health experts were quick to advise Americans against listening to Trump’s suggestions.
Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said, “There’s no circumstance under which you should take a disinfectant or inject a disinfectant for the treatment of anything and certainly not the treatment of coronavirus.”
As of Friday afternoon, the United States is reporting nearly 884,000 coronavirus cases and more than 50,000 deaths.