During a COVID-19 press briefing on Wednesday, March 23rd, President Trump made remarks about possibly “injecting” disinfectant to treat the virus. It is not clear if he meant to inject bleach or a similar chemical compound directly into the body. What is clear is the negative reaction his remarks garnered from mainstream media, regular people, and even some large corporations.
Lysol and Dettol issued warnings on Twitter that their products should not be injected or consumed by humans. Major media members as well as regular people said Trump should be removed from office via 25th Amendment (inability to perform). And of course, there have been a mountain of memes generated from his comments.
To be frank, the comments were taken out of context. Trump was speaking directly after the acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Bill Bryan. Bryan presented research into ways the virus is destroyed were presented. A graph was shown with virus half life, the temperature and humidity at which the virus is destroyed, and more.
Trump simply asked how the solutions on the graph could be implemented directly to a person in a real-world setting. The issue here is that his comments should have been asked behind closed doors and not out in the public. Because what has happened is that the word “inject” has been taken and attributed to things that the President did not say. It has spiraled out of control to the point where “don’t drink bleach” is trending on Twitter.
A previous incident was mentioned where a couple in Arizona drank fish tank cleaner to prevent from getting the virus. Media say this is Trump’s fault because he spoke highly of hydroxycholorquine. But the couple did not take that drug, they took choloroquine phosphate. And they did not consult a doctor which Trump was speaking about. Medical trials, not do-it-yourself.
But so is the burden that a President must carry. To prevent morons from hurting themselves, sometimes you have to be careful with your language.
