President Donald Trump left everybody stunned during his press conference on Thursday evening when he claimed that exposure to UV light and using disinfectant as a vaccine would cure COVID-19.
Trump’s own health expert on the White House coronavirus task force, Dr. Deborah Birx, was visibly flabbergasted.
A close-up video of Birx in the background of the briefing showed the doctor blinking at Trump in total shock before staring off into the distance as he told America that injecting the many lethal chemicals found in disinfectant into the bloodstream ought to cure the virus.
Here is Dr. Birx's reaction when President Trump asks his science advisor to study using UV light on the human body and injecting disinfectant to fight the coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/MVno5X7JMA
— Daniel Lewis (@Daniel_Lewis3) April 24, 2020
The morning after #TidePodPresident and #DontDrinkBleach began trending on Twitter, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams issued a not-so-subtle warning Friday against “administering any treatment/ medication to yourself or a loved one.”
A reminder to all Americans- PLEASE always talk to your health provider first before administering any treatment/ medication to yourself or a loved one.
Your safety is paramount, and doctors and nurses are have years of training to recommend what’s safe and effective.
— U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) April 24, 2020
Others were similarly shell-shocked by the President’s, uh, theory, including Trump’s Democratic rival, Joe Biden and George Conway, the husband of White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway. Doctors and others also weighed in. And the parent company of Lysol, Reckitt Benckiser, had to warn consumers that their product does not, in fact, belong inside the human body.
UV light? Injecting disinfectant?
Here’s an idea, Mr. President: more tests. Now. And protective equipment for actual medical professionals. https://t.co/Zv4Mfs2Z4a
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 24, 2020
May these words ring all across this great land:
Give me Biden, or give me bleach!
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) April 24, 2020
True. He also Lysol the time. https://t.co/LcwilmNZbM
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) April 24, 2020
EVERY HEALTH EXPERT: Please stay indoors
OUR PRESIDENT IN THIS WAKING NIGHTMARE OF A TIMELINE: Can’t die from COVID if you die from injecting disinfectant first pic.twitter.com/TOyFpYdczZ
— Jon “Jon Baker” Baker (@JonBaker) April 24, 2020
Oh FFS please don’t do this. I don’t need the extra work. If you are sick call your doctor. Don’t self medicate. https://t.co/uBXIasVXio
— Judy Melinek M.D. (@drjudymelinek) April 24, 2020
Limited attention span says what? pic.twitter.com/37dh3ekGrq
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) April 24, 2020
Even Washington’s emergency management agency had to remind residents not to do what the President suggested:
Please don't eat tide pods or inject yourself with any kind of disinfectant.
If you do need help with #COVID19 issues, we have lots of resources at https://t.co/C4x8jjWL0x
Just don't make a bad situation worse.
— WA Emergency Management (@waEMD) April 23, 2020
And comedian Sarah Cooper had a pitch-perfect reenactment of Trump’s musings:
How to medical pic.twitter.com/0EDqJcy38p
— Sarah Cooper (@sarahcpr) April 24, 2020
