White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany is defending President Donald Trump after he received backlash for his suggestion to scientists on possible new treatments for the coronavirus.
McEnany released a statement slamming the media, claiming Trump’s statements were distorted.
“President Trump has repeatedly said that Americans should consult with medical doctors regarding coronavirus treatment, a point that he emphasized again during yesterday’s briefing,” McEnany said.
She added, “Leave it to the media to irresponsibly take President Trump out of context and run with negative headlines.”
During his coronavirus task force briefing, Trump considered light and disinfectant injections as possible treatments for the coronavirus, as IJR previously reported.
He suggested using ultraviolet or a “very powerful light” on the body and possibly through the skin.
Trump moved on to ponder whether disinfectant could be used by injecting it into the body.
On Friday, the president was asked about his comments the day prior, in which he told reporters, “I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you just to see what would happen,” according to a White House pool report. Trump also said he is “of course not” encouraging that use.
Trump's coronavirus disinfectant comments are 'dangerous', doctors say, after the U.S. president said during a White House briefing that scientists should try to apply their findings to patients by inserting ultraviolet light or disinfectant https://t.co/NW9RfDjfw4 pic.twitter.com/EaUplvHTnY
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 24, 2020
However, experts were quick to instruct Americans not to follow Trump’s advice.
Among those experts included Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn.
“We certainly wouldn’t want, as a physician, someone to take matters into their own hands,” Hahn said, adding, “And no I certainly wouldn’t recommend the internal ingestion of a disinfectant.”
Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb also responded to Trump’s suggestion.
“There’s no circumstance under which you should take a disinfectant or inject a disinfectant for the treatment of anything and certainly not the treatment of coronavirus,” Gottlieb said.
He added, “There’s absolutely no circumstance in which that’s appropriate and it can cause death, very adverse outcomes. So people should not be doing that if that was an impression that was left by any of the reporting.”
Watch his comments below:
While experts search for treatments and a vaccine, the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on the nation. As of Friday afternoon, there are more than 880,000 positive coronavirus cases and over 50,000 deaths in the U.S.
