Claim:
Former U.S. President Donald Trump once said, with regard to possible medical treatments for COVID-19: "And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning."
During the first presidential debate of the 2024 presidential cycle, U.S. President Joe Biden referenced a claim that has repeatedly been spread regarding former President Donald Trump and his response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We had an economy that was in free fall," Biden saidduring his opening remarks on June 27. "The pandemic was so badly handled. Many people were dying. All he said was it's not that serious, just inject a little bleach in your arm. You'll be all right."
The claim has spread since April 2020, when Trump's remarks during a White House press briefing spread online. Publications like Politico reportedTrump suggested injecting bleach. Biden himself has also repeated the claim, with PolitiFactfact-checking comments he made about it in March 2024.
We previouslyfact-checked the claim, where we found Trump had discussed injecting "disinfectant" to fight COVID-19. Here's the official White House transcriptof Trump's remarks (emphasis added) from April 2020:
TRUMP: ...And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning. 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. So, that, you're going to have to use medical doctors with. But it sounds it sounds interesting to me.
Trump saidhe was "asking a question sarcastically" to reporters "just to see what would happen" the day after the press briefing. The Trump campaign has continuouslysated what he said was taken out of context, telling PolitiFact what Biden said in March 2024 was "more misinformation and lies."
RB, the maker of Lysol, issued a statement after Trump made his remarks that said disinfectantscould not be used as a treatment for COVID-19.
To get more fact-checks of what Biden and Trump said during the debate, you can find our fact-checking of what happened which we covered in real timehere.
CNN Staff. "READ: Biden-Trump Debate Rush Transcript | CNN Politics." CNN, 28 June 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/27/politics/read-biden-trump-debate-rush-transcript/index.html.
Evon, Dan. "Did Trump Suggest Injecting Disinfectant Could Be COVID-19 Treatment?" Snopes, 24 Apr. 2020, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/trump-disinfectants-covid-19/.
McGraw, Meredith & Stein, Sam. "It's Been Exactly One Year Since Trump Suggested Injecting bleach. We've Never Been the Same." Politico,https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/23/trump-bleach-one-year-484399. Accessed 28 June 2024.
O'Kane, Caitlin. "Lysol Maker Warns against Injecting and Drinking Disinfectants as a Coronavirus Treatment." CBS News. 24 Apr. 2020, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lysol-injecting-trump-disinfectants-coronavirus-treatment/.
"Remarks by President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Members of the Coronavirus Task Force in Press Briefing." Trump White House Archives, 23 April 2020,https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-vice-president-pence-members-coronavirus-task-force-press-briefing-31/. Accessed 28 June 2024.
Snopes Staff. "Fact-Checking the 2024 Presidential Debate." Snopes, 27 June 2024, https://www.snopes.com//news/2024/06/27/presidential-debate-live-updates/.
Specht, Paul. "Biden Exaggerates Trump's Pandemic Comments about Disinfectants, UV Light." PolitiFact, https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/mar/28/joe-biden/biden-exaggerates-trumps-pandemic-comments-about-d/. Accessed 28 June 2024.
Timm, Jane C. "Trump Says He Was Being Sarcastic with Comments about Injecting Disinfectants." NBC News, 24 Apr. 2020, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-says-he-was-being-sarcastic-comments-about-injecting-disinfectants-n1191991.
Visit link:
Trump Once Suggested Injecting Disinfectant Could Be COVID-19 Treatment? - Snopes.com
- The Health Department website was attacked in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic - Vox.com [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Defining Coronavirus Symptoms: From Mild To Moderate To Severe : Goats and Soda - NPR [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- What Are the Symptoms of a Coronavirus Infection? - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Hotels Were Rolling Out Tools to Help Calm Travelers. Then Coronavirus Hit. - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- The Coronavirus, by the Numbers - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Opinion: Early Coronavirus Testing Failures Will Cost Lives - NPR [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Cases Surge in U.S. and Europe - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Two Emergency Room Doctors Are in Critical Condition With Coronavirus - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Coronavirus: Over 1000 Cases Now In U.S., And 'It's Going To Get Worse,' Fauci Says - NPR [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- China Spins Tale That the U.S. Army Started the Coronavirus Epidemic - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Everything to Know About the Coronavirus in the United States - The Cut [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Coronavirus closed this school. The kids have special needs: 'You can't Netflix them all day.' - USA TODAY [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- How Long Can The Coronavirus Live On Surfaces? : Shots - Health News - NPR [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Cost to Businesses and Workers: It Has All Gone to Hell - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- In the U.S., More Than 300 Coronavirus Cases Are Confirmed - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- How Jair Bolsonaro's Son, Eduardo, Confirmed His Father's Positive Coronavirus Test to Fox News, Then Lied About It - The Intercept [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- De Blasio Resisted on Coronavirus. Then Aides Said Theyd Quit. - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Trump Is Tested for Coronavirus, and Experts Ask: What Took So Long? - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Live Coronavirus Updates and Coverage - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Threatens Americans With Underlying Conditions - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Capitalism and How to Beat It - The Intercept [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- An essential reading guide to understand the coronavirus - Vox.com [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- N.Y.C.s Economy Could be Ravaged by Coronavirus Outbreak - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- 'A ticking time bomb': Scientists worry about coronavirus spread in Africa - Science Magazine [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- How coronavirus is affecting the restaurant business, in one chart - Vox.com [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Map: How To Track Coronavirus Spread Across The Globe - Forbes [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Testing Website Goes Live and Quickly Hits Capacity - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Map: How Many Cases Of Coronavirus Are There In Each US State? : Shots - Health News - NPR [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Live Coronavirus Updates and Coverage Globally - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- This Is How the Coronavirus Will Destroy the Economy - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Every Star and Public Figure Diagnosed with COVID-19: A Running List - The Daily Beast [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Coronavirus: What you need to know - Fox News [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Travel updates: which countries have coronavirus restrictions and FCO warnings in place? - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Staff angered as Charter prohibits working from home despite spread of coronavirus - TechCrunch [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- If coronavirus scares you, read this to take control over your health anxiety - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- San Francisco and Bay Area will shelter in place to slow coronavirus spread - The Verge [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Coronavirus spreading fastest in UK in London - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Businesses Face a New Coronavirus Threat: Shrinking Access to Credit - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Welcome to Marriage During the Coronavirus - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Sweeping restrictions take effect in coronavirus response as health officials warn US is at a tipping point - CNN [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- How Long Will the Coronavirus Outbreak and Shutdown Last? - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- 201920 coronavirus pandemic - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Coronavirus - World Health Organization [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- What Is Coronavirus? | HowStuffWorks [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Coronavirus | CISA [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Is there a cure for the new coronavirus? - Livescience.com [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Shelter in Place: Some Residents in Bay Area Ordered to Stay Home - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Tracking the Impact of the Coronavirus on the U.S. - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- 8 Things Parents Should Know About The Coronavirus: Life Kit - NPR [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Spain, on Lockdown, Weighs Liberties Against Containing Coronavirus - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- New Yorks Nightlife Shuttered to Curb Coronavirus - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- How best to fight the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Heres whos most at risk from the novel coronavirus - The Verge [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Closing Down the Schools Over Coronavirus - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- The U.S. Economy Cant Withstand the Coronavirus by Itself - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- U.S. Lags in Coronavirus Testing After Slow Response to Outbreak - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- U.K. Steps Up Coronavirus Prevention, But Its Hospitals Have Already Been Strained - NPR [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Coronavirus panic is clearing out grocery stores; heres how workers are handling it - Vox.com [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Tracking the Coronavirus: How Crowded Asian Cities Tackled an Epidemic - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Treatment: Hundreds of Scientists Scramble to Find One - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Coronavirus cases have dropped sharply in South Korea. What's the secret to its success? - Science Magazine [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Facebook was marking legitimate news articles about the coronavirus as spam due to a software bug - The Verge [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- The Single Most Important Lesson From the 1918 Influenza - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- How to Protect Older People From the Coronavirus - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Is Killing Iranians. So Are Trump's Brutal Sanctions. - The Intercept [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- Is there a cure for coronavirus? Why Covid-19 is so hard to treat - Vox.com [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- Coronavirus: The math behind why we need social distancing, starting right now - Vox.com [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- Europeans Erect Borders Against Coronavirus, but the Enemy Is Already Within - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- Some of the last people on earth to hear about the coronavirus pandemic are going to be told on live TV - CNN [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- Why the US is still struggling to test for the coronavirus - The Verge [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- The Coronavirus Is Here to Stay, So What Happens Next? - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- Coronavirus in the U.S. - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- Watch the Footprint of Coronavirus Spread Across Countries - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Briefing: What Happened Today - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- Why the Covid-19 coronavirus is worse than the flu, in one chart - Vox.com [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2020]
- Fact-Checking 5 Trump Administration Claims On The Coronavirus Pandemic - NPR [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2020]
- Trump has scoreboard obsession. It hasnt worked with coronavirus - POLITICO [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2020]
- Here's What Is In The 'Families First' Coronavirus Aid Package Trump Approved - NPR [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2020]
- Young Adults Come to Grips With Coronavirus Health Risks - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2020]
- Which Country Has Flattened the Curve for the Coronavirus? - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2020]
