This week, CNN has gone back to peddling false claims that President Donald Trump suggested that people "drink," "ingest" or "inject" disinfectants like bleach to treat coronavirus. Also repeated has been the disproven claim that the President's comments caused an increase in people calling poison control centers even though the increase in calls actually happened a month earlier as people reacted to the pandemic.
But the allegedly "facts first" liberal media have been only to happy to repeat the discredited claims to smear President Trump even while they accuse him of being the one who's dishonest.
Back on April 23rd, a medical professional with the Homeland Security Department -- Dr. Wiliam Bryan -- gave a briefing in which he reported findings that sunlight and disinfectants are very effective in killing the COVID-19 virus.
President Trump --apparently misunderstanding Dr. Bryan when he recalled using disinfectants on respiratory fluids (meaning outside the body) -- seemed to think doctors had already been experimenting on substances that could be used inside the lungs and asked whether they might be "injected" into the body to fight the virus, citing Dr. Bryan's work, "because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs."
He added that any such research should be done by "medical doctors."
At no point did President Trump even hint that anyone should "drink" or "ingest" anything, nor did he ever use the word "bleach" in his questions.
But, instead of treating the matter as being, at worst, a mildly embarrassing misunderstanding of Dr. Bryan's research, and accurately reporting on it, journalists and other liberals have repeatedly put words in the President's mouth and made provably false claims about what the President actually said as well as blaming him for people poisoning themselves with disinfectants.
if medical doctors might experiment with "injecting" such "disinfectants" into the body: "
CNN's New Day show has been on a roll this week in peddling misinformation as its anchors have not only repeated the falsehood that President Donald Trump suggesting "ingesting bleach" and causing in increase in calls to poison control centers, but also covered for Dr. Anthony Fauci and other medical experts who discouraged Americans from wearing masks back in March while more successful East Asian countries were helping their citizens get masks.
At the top of Monday's show, co-host Alisyn Camerota complained:
Camerota also repeated the discredited myth that President Trump suggested that people drink disinfectants and caused a spike in people calling poison control centers when, in fact, the jump in calls to poison control centers happened in March. The CNN host claimed:
CAMEROTA: Let's not forget that President Trump also suggested well after that that one way to get rid of the virus in humans is -- was possibly to ingest bleach. And then hotlines across the country -- medical hotlines, doctors' hotlines, hospitals -- lit up with people wondering if they should be drinking bleach.
But President Trump never used the word "drink," "ingest," or "bleach" as he actually mused mover whether doctors might be able to use "disinfectants" to treat patients via "injecting" them, as he appeared to misunderstand a presentation by Homeland Security medical expert Dr ,William Bryan.
Transcripts follow:
August 18 CNN Newsroom:
2:18 p.m.
SANJAY GUPTA: The President talked about disinfectants being, you know, ingested as a possible thing, and I thought, "That's just crazy -- why are we even talking about it?" And then we come to find out that people -- it actually did make an impact, and there were people out there who started doing that sort of thing
August 18 CNN Newsroom
2:42 a.m.
JOHN VAUSE: Is it really that hard to convince wavering Republicans or independents it's okay to vote for a Democrat and against a guy who advised them to drink bleach and eat poison in the middle of a pandemic?
August 17 Erin Burnett OutFront
7:05 p.m.
ERIN BURNETT (after clip from Trump's April 23 press conference): Cleaning of your inside with disinfectant? Several states reported increases to poison control centers after that specific comment you just heard.
August 17 The Lead with Jake Tapper
4:19 p.m.
JAKE TAPPER: After the President mused about injecting disinfectants as a potential treatment for coronavirus, health professionals -- even the makers of Lysol -- had to actually issue warnings -- "Don't ingest disinfectant." Are you worried that there could be a serious risk to people who decide to go and find out about this supplement?
GUPTA: Absolutely. I mean, there's no question. I actually was surprised at how much of an uptick there was in people actually, you know, starting inquiries about Lysol and disinfectants and what's the harm in ingesting it.
July 13 New Day
6:24 a.m.
ALISYN CAMEROTA: Let's not forget President Trump also suggested well after that that one way to get rid of the virus in humans is -- was to possibly ingest bleach, and then hotlines across the country -- medical hotlines, doctors' hotlines, hospitals -- lit up with people wondering if they should be drinking bleach.
May 19 New Day
7:12 a.m.
CAMEROTA: The President suggested that maybe people should inject bleach because maybe that would do some inside cleaning. The calls to hotlines, Dr. Reiner, spiked, The calls to medical, crisis, you know, overdose hotlines in terms of people asking if they should take bleach, and considering drinking bleach, went up.
CNN Special Report: The Pandemic and the President
May 9
11:12 p.m.
JAKE TAPPER: -- an unbelievable and perplexing moment that had people calling hotlines asking if they should be using disinfectant on themselves to combat the virus.
ANA CABRERA: This idea prompted statements from the CDC, the EPA, numerous state health officials, and even the makers of Lysol and Clorox to warn: Do not try this -- it could kill.
TAPPER: Requiring doctors, public officials, and organizations to shift their focus from fighting COVID-19 to actually warning the public not to ingest disinfectant.
The Lead
3:14 p.m.
KATE BOLDUAN: President Trump suggested disinfectants could treat COVID-19 -- yes, that thing he said on Thursday. Well, now, poison control in one state is reporting a dramatic uptick in cases involving cleaning chemicals.
CNN Tonight
April 27
10:07 p.m.
DON LEMON: The President asked tonight whether he takes any responsibility for an increase in calls to state hotlines about disinfectants -- disinfectants after his comments last week asking whether ingesting disinfectants could fight the virus. Okay, well, we're learning tonight the poison control center in Kansas is reporting a 40 percent increase in cleaning chemical cases -- that is according to the Washington Post.
Erin Burnett OutFront
April 27
7:13 p.m.
BURNETT: Tonight President Trump asked about the spike in calls to poison control centers across the country after he suggested using disinfectants as an ingestible cure.
7:15 p.m.
BURNETT: He is the one who suggested that people somehow inject themselves with these cleaners. So he suggested it, and people did it, and he's shocked?
GLORIA BORGER: Right, look, he's disowning any responsibility for it, which shouldn't be shocking to any of us. But it's remarkable because of course he knows the answer to the question. The answer to the question is, "Yeah, I know what happened. Yeah, it's because I spoke last Thursday. And what I said was tell -- suggest to people that perhaps ingesting disinfectant might help cure coronavirus in some way.
CNN Tonight
April 26
8:05 p.m.
DON LEMON: Some people are taking what the President said seriously. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican, saying today that his state's hotline had gotten hundreds of calls from residents asking whether ingesting disinfectant can be a treatment for the virus.
The Situation Room
April 26
7:30 p.m.
WOLF BLITZER: How worried are you about the President's comments, for example, amplifying unproven, even some dangerous treatment theories out there -- ingesting, you know, disinfectants, for example, as he said the other day?
CNN Newsroom
April 26
3:30 p.m.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD: The President's remarks about injecting or ingesting disinfectants to treat the coronavirus created serious concerns in at least one state. Today, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan says health officials in his state were flooded with phone calls about this dangerous theory.
GOVERNOR LARRY HOGAN (R-MD): We had hundreds of calls in our hotline here in Maryland about people asking about injecting or ingesting these disinfectants...
MSNBC
May 18 Deadline: White House
4:52 p.m.
JEREMY BASH: This is the President who prescribed injections of disinfectants -- Clorox and Lysol -- and set off a national panic, and tens of thousands of calls into poison control centers.
Morning Joe
April 27
8:10 a.m.
JOHN HEILEMANN: You had bumps in phone calls in to hotlines and department of health lines that day -- hundreds of people asking, calling in to ask the question whether it was okay to eat a Tide Pod or tuck down some Lysol because of what the President said.
Kasie D.C.
April 26
7:27 p.m.
KASIE HUNT: --President did on Thursday which was to suggest that taking bleach or disinfectants internally might help. We've now seen reports from poison control lines, people calling asking if this is something that they should do.
April 26
MSNBC Live
1:08 p.m.
ALEX WITT: And new reaction this morning from two governors who say they are seeing a rise in calls to emergency hotlines, this after the President's comments about injecting disinfectants.
April 26
AM Joy
10:03 a.m.
JOY REID: The President suggested people drink disinfectants to cure COVID-19, forcing companies like the makers of Lysol to issue warnings to please not ingest our products. … New York City poison control center reported that calls about exposure to bleach, Lysol and other household cleaners more than doubled.
11:49 a.m.
REID: Larry Hogan -- the governor of Maryland -- and Gretchen Wittmer -- the governor of Michigan -- both said that they are getting calls into their poison control centers following Donald Trump's comments. … New York poison control calls for bleach, Lysol doubled after Trump made his disinfectant comment. They can try to walk this back all they want, but Donald Trump's supporters believe him. There was a couple that drank cleaning fluid from the fish tank because he said that the chemicals -- that people should ingest certain chemicals to stop COVID-19. Whatever he says, his supporters -- they just believe whatever he says. This is becoming dangerous, at this point, for him to talk.