On Thursday — during his nightly farce of a press briefing — Donald Trump suggested that people infected with the coronavirus could be cured by being injected with disinfectant.

Does Trump also think it would be a good idea to spray Lysol down everyone’s throat, as if the human body is no different from a pair of rented bowling shoes? (The manufacturer of Lysol has issued a warning “that under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body.”)

It’s tempting to laugh off the truly imbecilic things Trump says.

But he is the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, which means a lot of people listen to him. Even when it could get them killed.

The next day, in fact, an emergency hotline in Maryland got over 100 calls from people with questions about disinfectant and the coronavirus.

So, just in case there is any confusion, I wanted to share a statement from Dr. Michael Carome, director of Public Citizen’s esteemed Health Research Group:

Enough is enough. Trump’s dangerous suggestion that injections of disinfectants might be useful for treating coronavirus infections is among the stupidest ideas to emerge from his mouth during the nightly White House carnival shows. Trump’s utterances are going to get people killed.

When Trump’s blunder hit the news, the White House whined — with no basis in reality, of course — that the comment was taken out of context. Then Trump himself claimed he was being sarcastic. Then another administration official said Trump was thinking out loud.

They can’t even keep their bogus excuses straight.

Stay safe.

- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen

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