Trump's incredibly dangerous ideas about disinfectants

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in a new window)
• Click to email a friend (Opens in a new window)

Trump said he was "sarcastic" about injecting sanitizer 0:33

(CNN) - United States President Donald Trump has repeatedly reflected that he has a facility for science and medicine. He has even said that, if his life had had a different path, he could have excelled within those fields instead of business and politics.

• READ: Trump is lying when he says he was being 'sarcastic' when he talked about injecting disinfectant

"I like this. I really get it, ”Trump said after visiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in early March. "People are surprised that he understands it. Each of these doctors said to me, 'How do you know so much about this?' Perhaps he has a natural ability. Maybe I should have done that instead of running for president, "he added.

Earlier in 2018, when referring to the threat of the climate crisis, Trump argued this:

"Nerd. Some say that and others say something different. I mean, you have scientists on both sides. My uncle was a great professor at MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology] for many years. Dr. John Trump. And I didn't speak to him on this particular subject, but I have a natural instinct for science, and I will say that there are scientists on both sides of the issue. ”

And, during the 2016 election campaign, Trump noted that his "super genius" uncle - Dr. John Trump - had already explained nuclear power to him more than three decades ago. "Look, having nuclear [energy] ... my uncle was a great professor, scientist, and engineer, Dr. John Trump at MIT. They are good genes, very good genes, okay, very smart, the Wharton School of Finance, very good, I am very smart, "said the now president of himself.

All of the above brings us to this Thursday night in the White House press room when Trump - who, just to remember him, is in fact neither a doctor nor a scientist - reflected on possible treatments for the coronavirus. And here is what he said (yes, it is long but you need to read every word):

"So, assuming we put tremendous light on the body - either ultraviolet or just very powerful light - and I think you said that hasn't been proven, but you're going to put it to the test. And then I say: assuming you put that light into the body, which you can do through the skin or some other way, and I think you said you're going to try that too. Sounds interesting…"

"…Right. And then I see the disinfectant, which removes it [the coronavirus] in a minute. One minute. And is there any way we can do something like that, with an injection inside, almost a cleaning? Because you see that it gets into the lungs and does a tremendous number in the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that out. So, you're going to have to go to doctors. But it sounds, I find it interesting. "

"Then we'll see. But the whole concept of light, the way it kills in a minute, that is, that is quite powerful. ”

To be absolutely clear: what the President of the United States - again, who is not a doctor - suggests is this:

1) Ingest - or somehow insert - a source of ultraviolet light into your body.

2) Inject a disinfectant into your body to achieve a "clean" in your lungs.

All of this would be very funny - in the 'who would take this guy seriously' way - if Donald Trump was not the President of the United States, if we were not in the midst of a pandemic in which people have already shown their willingness to do any kind of crazy things to "heal" and if Donald Trump were not the president of the United States. (Yes, I said it twice. It is very important.)

• LOOK: Don't ingest or inject disinfectant, asks the FDA (after Trump suggested)

As Donald Trump is the President of the United States, his ridiculous comments had to be immediately clarified by serious people, fearing that people would take seriously the reflections of a man who - in case you have forgotten - is not a doctor. The Environmental Protection Agency was forced to issue a statement about disinfectants that should be obvious to anyone with a functional brain:

“Never apply the product to others or to yourself. Do not ingest disinfectant products. "

Lysol manufacturers did the same: "We must be clear that under no circumstances should our disinfectant products be administered to the human body (by injection, ingestion or any other route)," they warned in a statement. "As with all products, our disinfectant and hygiene products should only be used as intended and in accordance with usage guidelines," they insisted.

Now. Breath deeply. Go back and read those last paragraphs. And keep in mind that a government agency and one of the largest manufacturers of disinfectant products in the world were put in that position by this president, in order to respond to his idea about ingesting or injecting disinfectants and ultraviolet rays into your body to combat the coronavirus. .

• READ: Sunlight and chlorine can kill the coronavirus on a park bench, but they can be harmful to your health

The level of irresponsibility demonstrated this Thursday by Trump is literally beyond belief. It's okay to be a really smart guy who picks up on concepts quickly. Even going so far as to suggest that since you had an uncle who was an intelligent scientist, then you - due to genetics or something like that - also have a gift for these things. But it's a completely different thing to stand in front of the American public, in the real White House with real doctors around them, and talk about their medical reflections.

It was no surprise to anyone that Trump tried to ignore his ideas this Thursday as a joke ... or trying to confuse the press.

When asked about his comments this Friday, the president said, "of course," that he is not encouraging Americans to inject disinfectant. He said sarcastically. It was asked as a question to a group of extraordinarily hostile people, namely the fake news media, "he replied.

Even if that were true - it's not like you can identify in the video that Trump's tone on Thursday was sarcastic - it would be profoundly irresponsible. Because it would mean that the president deliberately circulated dangerous information as a kind of test for journalists.

Here's the thing: People will take seriously what Trump said. Even though he almost certainly only thought of his idea to inject disinfectant while standing on the podium, and, again, as a reminder, he's not a real doctor. His words, as we have seen over and over for the past three years, have influence and impact, because he is the President of the United States.

So that Trump doesn't understand that, or that he doesn't care, is frankly dangerous.

• FDA warns of serious side effects associated with drugs Trump has promoted to treat coronavirus

disinfectant ultraviolet light Lysol