President Trump’s assertion at the White House that household disinfectants might be able to kill the coronavirus inside the body was denounced as misguided and dangerous by doctors and elected officials — and prompted Lysol and Clorox to issue statements warning against the improper use of their products.
As the outcry grew, the president tried to suggest Friday that he had only been kidding, then took no questions from reporters — a highly unusual move — at the daily White House virus briefing that was one of the shortest yet.
Earlier, he claimed he had not been serious when he spoke about disinfectants. “I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you just to see what would happen,” Mr. Trump told journalists in the Oval Office as he signed the latest virus relief bill into law.
His explanation, which came after his comments were widely assailed and mocked, contrasted with his own press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, who had made no claim that the president was actually not being serious. Instead, in a statement earlier in the day, she said that the president had repeatedly made clear that Americans should consult with doctors, and blamed reporters for mischaracterizing Mr. Trump’s remarks, without saying how.
Source: New York Times
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