Trump Explains His Disinfectant Comments: ‘A Sarcastic Question To A Reporter’

The mainstream media reported Thursday night that President Trump was urging Americans to inject disinfectant into their bodies in an attempt to ward off COVID-19.

Here’s what he said: “And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or, or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets on the lungs and it does a tremendous number, so it will be interesting to check that. So that you’re going to have to use medical doctors. But it sounds, it sounds interesting to me. So we’ll see. But the whole concept of the light, the way it kills it in one minute, that’s, that’s pretty powerful.”

On Friday, Trump explained himself. Here’s a verbatim transcript, via a pool report from Reuters Jeff Mason, from a short Q&A session the president held Fridaywith reporters at the White House:

Reporter: Can you clarify your comments about injection on disinfectant?

Trump: I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you just to see what would happen. Now disinfectant or doing this maybe on the hands would work. I was asking the question of the gentleman who was there yesterday, Bill [Bryan, head of the science and technology directorate at the Department of Homeland Security], because when they say that something will last three to four hours or six hours, but if sun is out, or if they use disinfectant, it goes away in less than a minute. Did you hear about this yesterday?

When 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, and it would kill it on the hands and that would make things much better. That was done in the form of a sarcastic question to a reporter.

Reporter: But you were asking your medical experts to look into it.

Trump: To look into whether or not sun — and disinfectant on the hands — but whether or not sun can help us. Because, I mean he [Bryan] came in yesterday and he said they’ve done a big study. This is a study. This isn’t where he hasn’t done it. This is where they’ve come in with a final report that sun has a massive impact negatively on this virus. In other words, it does not live well with humidity and it doesn’t live well with sun, sunlight, heat. It doesn’t live well with heat and sun and and disinfectant. And that’s what I brought up, and I thought that was clear.

Reporter: Just to follow up on the comments from yesterday you said you were being sarcastic, but some people may have misunderstood you. Do you want to just clarify?

Trump: I wish they —

Reporter: Do you want to clarify to Americans if you don’t want people to think that?

Trump: Yes. I do think that disinfectant on the hands could have a very good effect. Now, Bill is going back to check that in the laboratory. You know, it’s an amazing laboratory, by the way. It’s amazing the work they do. So, he’s going to check because a hard surface. This is a hard surface I guess maybe depending on whose hand you’re talking about, right? But this is a hard surface and disinfectant, disinfectant has an unbelievable — it wipes it out.

You saw it? Sun and heat, and humidity and you wipe it out. And this is from tests — they’ve been doing these tests for a number of months. And the result — so then I said, ‘Well, how do we do it inside the body or even outside the body with the hands and disinfectant I think would work.’ He thinks it would work. When you use it when you’re doing your hands. I guess that’s one of the reasons they say wash your hands, but whether it’s washing hands or disinfectant on your hands, it’s very good. So, they’re going to start looking at that. And there is a way of, you know, if light — if sun, sun itself that sun has a tremendous impact on or kills it like in one — it goes from what was it? Hours to like one minute instead.

So, I said you got to go back and look, but I’d like them now to look as it pertains to the human body. Not just sitting on a railing or sitting on a wall. I’d like to look as it pertains because maybe there’s something there. They have to work with — I’m not a doctor. They have to work with their doctors. but maybe there is something to light, and the human body, and helping people that are dying.

Reporter: Just to clarify: You’re not encouraging Americans to inject disinfectant?

Trump: No. Of course not… It was said sarcastically. It was put in the form of a question to a group of extraordinary hostile people. Namely, the fake news media.

Reporter: Some doctors felt you needed to clarify that after your comments.

Trump: Of course, all they had to do was see just — you know the way it was asked.

At the briefing,  Bryan discussed the findings of the federal government’s study on sunlight, humidity and temperature effect on the coronavirus, as well as disinfectants.

“We’re also testing disinfectants readily available. We’ve tested bleach, we’ve tested isopropyl alcohol on the virus, specifically in saliva or in respiratory fluids. And I can tell you that bleach will kill the virus in five minutes; isopropyl alcohol will kill the virus in 30 seconds, and that’s with no manipulation, no rubbing — just spraying it on and letting it go. You rub it and it goes away even faster. We’re also looking at other disinfectants, specifically looking at the COVID-19 virus in saliva,” Bryan said.

Trump then talked about discussions he’s had with Bryan, looking at him as he did so.

“So, supposing we hit the body with a tremendous — whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light — and I think you said that that hasn’t been checked, but you’re going to test it. And then I said, supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way, and I think you said you’re going to test that too. It sounds interesting.”

Then Bryan discussed disinfectant again. “We’re continuing with that. For example, on the aerosol side, you notice the figures were 20 percent humidity. We’re looking at higher humidity levels. We would expect that would even have a greater impact on the virus. We’re looking at other types of disinfectants. And — and so we’re — this is a — as a scientific community, we’re continuing to study the virus to understand its characteristics.”