I’m just asking how one can misconstrue Trump’s question to the doctor into an official suggestion that the public should inject disinfectant into their veins. Can you suggest that I do something by asking someone else a question? I just don’t understand it, but perhaps that’s my own blinkers. — NOS4A2

The President's words can move armies.

Armies of all kinds.

In this case, very stupid armies. Have some empathy for the very stupid.

, very stupid armies — ZzzoneiroCosm

They're apes. They do what apes do.

A President doing a press conference to address an ongoing crisis should stick to setting out the facts about what the administration is doing and the like. Some off-the-cuff question about possibly injecting disinfectant or irradiating the body has no place on the podium.

I disagree with that. I like being able to watch the leadership spitball and brainstorm. But maybe I am one of the few who don’t look to politicians for medical advice.

When I first heard Trump at the press conference, it seemed like he was taking a more questioning tone than anything else. He said disinfectants hurt the virus, as do heat and light, and he wanted to know if there was a way to replicate these effects somehow in the form of a treatment. "Maybe we can, maybe we can't. I'm not a doctor... But maybe it's worth looking into." I'm not a Trump apologist either, but I think if a normal person hears that such and such has been found to hurt the virus, their next thought might be, "I wonder if there's a way we can use that somehow." I think the idea that he is suggesting injecting bleach into people, or something like this, is an uncharitable, not to mention inaccurate, interpretation of what he was saying. It doesn't really add anything to the discussion unless the goal is to just pile more hate onto the bandwagon. — Wolfman

I'm a normal person and I still know it's a fucking stupid suggestion. I'd expect that the most serious problem affecting the US at the moment would have the president's undivided attention, meaning he should know at least as much as I do. In fact, he should be better informed, with what little time I spend on the subject next to a full time job, a wife and two kids who are at home all the time at the moment.

To be fair, anyone who holds Trump to any standard at all hasn't been paying attention.

You are a Dutchman, and the Dutch are on balance smarter than Americans. Plus, you are smarter than the average Dutchman, so this would practically make you Albert Einstein over here.

:razz:

I think the idea that he is suggesting injecting bleach into people, or something like this, is an uncharitable, not to mention inaccurate, interpretation of what he was saying. It — Wolfman

The FDA and Lysol, among other players, felt it was an accurate enough interpretation to release a statement warning against DIY injection-treatments.

It's easy to underestimate the power of the President's words and not so easy to overestimate the stupidity of the American people.

I think these warnings have more to do with (a) them knowing that there are a lot of stupid people in the country, and (b) liability (moreso in Lysol's case), than the accuracy and/or intent of Trump's statement. I think if you watch the press conference, you don't really get the impression that Trump is recommending injecting ourselves with disinfectants.

In any case, this point really just serves to reinforce the conclusion in my second paragraph -- that his "spitballing" should have never been done during a public press conference.

I don't really have any interest in defending a person I vehemently dislike, but I do like to try and strive for honest discussion.

Sadly, many of Trump's supporters will view the increasingly obvious truth that you can never be too stupid to be President of the United States as a good thing. In fact, it's getting to the point in the US where a large section of the population see stupidity itself as a good thing, a sign of not being part of the "elite" or some such. What can you do? Enjoy the memes.

think these warnings have more to do with (a) them knowing that there are a lot of stupid people in the country, and (b) liability (moreso in Lysol's case), than the accuracy and/or intent of Trump's statement. I think if you watch the press conference, you don't really get the impression that Trump is recommending injecting ourselves with disinfectants.

In any case, this point really just serves to reinforce the conclusion in my second paragraph -- that his "spitballing" should have never been done during a public press conference.

I don't really have any interest in defending a person I vehemently dislike, but I do like to try and strive for honest discussion. — Wolfman

I agree with the bulk of this. But carelessness is no defence.

It conveys just how low Trump has set the bar. He has a gift for pushing the bar lower and lower - not unlike the boiling frog scenario. He is a gifted man.

liability — Wolfman

Liability because they want to cover their ass when people start trying this shit out.

I like being able to watch the leadership spitball and brainstorm — NOS4A2

My first thought was nanobots with little UV lamps. Or maybe just chemo and radiation. Then we wouldn't be able to tell if the virus is making them nauseous or the chemo.

Gamma knife. Now we're talking. If that doesn't work, then maybe tiny H-bombs as Evil suggested earlier.

What about some nebulizer filled with something that kills the virus?

I can only find this paper on the possibility of using ethanol solutions.

Possibility of Disinfection of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) in Human Respiratory Tract by Controlled Ethanol Vapor Inhalation

...brainstorm — NOS4A2

It's not a brainstorm, which implies there's thought involved. Try this: Speculate on injecting disinfectant into someone's lungs as a treatment for COVID with a nine-year child. Here's the response I got: "That's stupid! It would make them die quicker!" The fact that you're not concerned that your president is considerably intellectually less able than a nine-year-old says everything we need to know about your level of political analysis.

We used to aerosolize Ribavirin. It's rarely done now.

It's not a brainstorm, which implies there's thought involved. Try this: Speculate on injecting disinfectant into someone's lungs as a treatment for COVID with a nine-year child. Here's the response I got: "That's stupid! It would make them die quicker!" The fact that you're not concerned that your president is considerably intellectually less able than a nine-year-old says everything we need to know about your level of political analysis.

I think he's just curious and asking questions.

Yeah, well, people tend to be easily swayed by rhetoric and celebrity. Living in Northern California you get the impression that everyone hates Trump, but people forget there's a whole other country out there filled with people who think just like him. There's also a lot of silent voters who share Trump's values but will never admit to it in public.

My God Trump displaying how Godawfulfuckingstupid he is is the second most entertaining thing to have happened all day, the most entertaining being watching watching people trying to defend him - including Trump "I was just being sarcastic" himself. It's the force multiplication of morons. And the memes my god the memes.

:rofl:

It gets better! In the interests of non-partisanship:

Drinking bleach sounds preferable more and more each day

clorox chewable — StreetlightX

Brilliant

Our cousin

Trump claims he spoke 'sarcastically' when repeatedly suggesting people inject disinfectant to cure coronavirus

"I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters ... to see what would happen," the president said Friday

What? So it wasn't some "innocent question" as @NOS4A2 suggested but him fucking around with the media for shits and giggles?

(Although, honestly, I don't believe his backtracking here. He's just a moron who genuinely thought injecting disinfectant could help - or he just wasn't thinking and talking out of his ass.)

Yeah I don’t know why he’s backtracking on this one. But if idiots are pretending he suggested drinking bleach and shoving lightbulbs up their ass I suppose it’s warranted.

Yeah I don’t know why he’s backtracking on this one. — NOS4A2

Because he said a stupid thing so he's trying to save face.

He's just trying to cover for his stupidity and is, unfortunately, adding to it. Look at the tape, he was talking to the doctors not the media.

[Crosspost]

Got my vote.

I wouldn't be surprised if one of Trump's cult members tried out his brilliant idea.