Trump says briefings not worth his time after disinfectant gaffe
26 April, 2020
President Donald Trump tweeted Saturday that his daily coronavirus briefings weren't worth his time, two days after sparking a furor by suggesting patients could be injected with disinfectant to kill an infection.
He appeared to confirm media reports that he was considering halting the briefings, which dominate early-evening cable television set news for sometimes a lot more than two hours, out of frustration with questions about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"What is the objective of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks only hostile questions, & then refuses to report the reality or facts accurately," Trump wrote. "They get record ratings, & the American persons get only Fake News. Not worth enough time & effort!"
On Thursday the U.S. leader stunned viewers by saying doctors might treat persons infected with the coronavirus by shining ultraviolet light of their bodies, or with injections of household disinfectant.
"Then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks (the virus) 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 view it gets in the lungs and it can a significant number on the lungs," he said.
After a strong rebuff of his suggestion by top medical authorities and disinfectant manufacturers, Trump on Friday claimed he previously been speaking "sarcastically."
But he limited that day's briefing, which often includes himself, Vice President Mike Pence and members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, to just 19 minutes, and didn't take any questions from reporters.
And on Saturday, after 50 briefings over 8 weeks, the White House didn't hold one at all.
Trump has used the briefings to occupy tv set screens and promote his administration's policies, fend off critics and attack political rivals -- from opposition Democrats to China to the U.S. media.
But after a lot more than 53,000 Americans have died from the novel coronavirus, the briefings, judgment polls suggest, have not bolstered Trump's popularity among voters as he gears up to fight Democrat Joe Biden in the presidential election in November.
An AP-NORC poll published Thursday showed that most Americans -- and a crushing majority of Democrats -- don't believe Trump when it comes to medical emergency facing the united states.
Source: japantoday.com
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