President Trump claims injecting disinfectant remark was 'sarcastic'
Trump addresses controversial comment from task force briefing; chief White House correspondent John Roberts reports.
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Howard Stern, the famed radio personality, suggested Monday that President Trump's supporters should “take disinfectant” and “drop dead.”
“I would love it if Donald would get on TV and take an injection of Clorox and let’s see if his theory works,” Stern said on Monday. “Hold a big rally, say f—k this coronavirus, with all of his followers, and let them hug each other and kiss each other and have a big rally.”
“A big cocktail of disinfectant,“ Robin Quivers, his longtime sidekick suggested, according to the New York Daily News.
STATES SEE SPIKE IN POISON CONTROL CALLS FOLLOWING TRUMP'S COMMENTS ON INJECTING DISINFECTANT
“Yeah,” Stern concurred. “And all take disinfectant and all drop dead.”
Howard Stern ranted over President Trump's comments last week suggesting the injection of disinfectants could possibly help to treat the coronavirus, by declaring his supporters should “take disinfectant” and “drop dead.” (AP)
At a news briefing Thursday, Trump speculated on the effectiveness of several possible treatments for the virus.
“Is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning?” Trump suggested. “Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that.”
The president later clarified he was being sarcastic after his comments worried medical experts throughout the U.S.
“I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you,” Trump said. “Disinfectant for doing this, maybe on the hands, would work. I was asking…when they use disinfectant it goes away in less than a minute.”
Some poison control centers saw a spike in calls after his statements, while state agencies, including Lysol parent company Reckitt Benckiser, issued statements reminding citizens to avoid consuming those products or injecting them into the body.
TRUMP CLAIMS HE WAS BEING SARCASTIC ABOUT CORONAVIRUS DISINFECTANT COMMENTS
Both Stern and Quivers argued later in the show that opposition to consuming disinfectants isn’t a political stance.
“I don’t recognize any of this as being Republican, I don’t recognize it as being anything political. I see it as insanity,” Stern said, the paper reported. “I don’t know what is going on there, but I don’t have a good feeling.”
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Earlier this month, Stern said on his show that he was "probably a Republican if you really think about, a lot of my issues that I believe in," according to the Daily News.
Fox News' Peter Aitken and Brooke Singman contributed to this report
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