Piers Morgan slams Trump’s injecting disinfectants idea, says deaths of those who self-medicate will be on him
Piers Morgan launched a scathing attack against his longtime friend President Donald J. Trump, saying that his suggestion to researchers that people could be injected with disinfectants to kill the coronavirus was not only "completely unsubstantiated" but could, in fact, get people killed.
The British journalist and TV presenter called out the president in an opinion piece for the Daily Mail after the US leader made a claim during Thursday’s White House coronavirus press briefing that COVID-19 patients may be healed by injecting disinfectants like bleach or isopropyl alcohol. Furthermore, Trump also suggested that doctors could look into ways for inserting UV light into people to neutralize the pathogen.
"Last night he stooped to a shameful new low by suggesting people suffering from COVID-19 should be injected with toxic disinfectant. Yes, you read that right," the Good Morning Britain host wrote in a piece titled 'Shut the f**k up, President Trump.'
"It's hard to imagine a more stupid thing for a President to say than publicly float a completely unsubstantiated 'idea' like that which will inevitably make some Americans believe having bleach inside them will cure the virus," he continued.
Morgan also slammed the president for allegedly abusing his position of power. "For you to use your platform to fly absurdly delusional and dangerous medical 'cures' during this crisis is an outrageous abuse of your position," he wrote.
The British TV presenter recalled the case of a Phoenix man who recently died after attempting to self-medicate from the virus by drinking chloroquine phosphate, a fish-tank cleaning additive that he mistook for the hydroxychloroquine compound that Trump had been talking about during one of his briefings.
"How many Americans, also scared of getting sick now the crisis has escalated dramatically, will now be tempted to try taking bleach to combat COVID-19? We don't know," Morgan fumed. "But what we do know is that if they do it because they heard President Trump say it was an 'interesting idea' on TV, then their deaths will be directly on him."
In conclusion, he said that while some may find Trump's "ridiculous" medical theories amusing, he did not think it was funny at all.
"Some found Trump's latest ridiculous medical theories amusing, and myriad Trump and bleach memes have gone viral on social media," Morgan wrote. "I don't find any of this funny. In fact, I found his remarks breathtakingly stupid, reckless, and dangerous. As I said at the start of this column, the President needs to SHUT THE F**K UP," he added.
Trump's comments came after William Bryan of the Department of Homeland Security revealed that new research had found that UV light, bleach, and isopropyl alcohol could potentially kill the virus within minutes.
Upon taking the podium, the president suggested that scientists could find a way to “hit the body with a tremendous – whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light.”
Even Dr. Deborah Birx seemed uncomfortable with the president's suggestion, but Trump wondered if there was a way to shoot UV light into the patient's body and said researchers were also looking into the "interesting" idea, adding that it was a "great" thing to explore.
POTUS then went on to discuss the idea of using disinfectants such as bleach and alcohol to target the pathogen.
“And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks out in a minute,” Trump said. “One minute. And there is a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning? So, it will be interesting to check that.”
Morgan, frustrated with the president's unqualified suggestions, reminded him that he isn't a doctor and should stop "pretending" to be one.
“I just see a president pretending to be a medical expert and spewing theories that might have disastrous consequences,” he wrote.