https://apnews.com/697d9ecef7f89cf5e9abb3b008c7faa7
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/04/24/disinfectant-injection-coronavirus-trump/
Thursday, April 23rd, there was a briefing in the White House which included President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Members of the Coronavirus taskforce. During the briefing, President Trump made a remark regarding the disinfectants which have been selling out fairly quickly throughout stores. He mentions that since they have been so effective in fighting the spread of COVID-19, if "there's a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning...it would be interesting to check that." The media was quick to react to this statement and go on social media and news outlets to debunk this suggestion and call him out on his stupidity. The manufacturer of Lysol even went ahead and issued a statement warning that "Under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body." Hillary Clinton and Hakeem Jeffries tweeted how idiotic and irresponsible it was for a man who was speaking from the presidential pulpit to suggets something so dangerous. The White House responded to the backlash by saying that "the media was mischaracterizing Trump's comments regarding coronavirus treatment" and Trump said that he was only being sarcastic.
1) How do you think the media handled debunking Trump's statement?
2) Many say that Trump was speaking sarcastically, while others thought the opposite, what do you think?
3) Should The White House have handled the situation better?
When I first heard about this, I thought it was pretty amusing. I figured that there's no way the president could've been serious when suggesting that we should inject disinfectants, but I guess we can't be 100% sure that he was just being sarcastic. If he was being sarcastic, he probably should've made that clear when he first made the statement to avoid misinterpretation of his joke. I feel like Trump should know better than to make a comment like that without clarifying that it was sarcastic as soon as he said it.
ReplyDeleteAt the time he said this I believe as well as many others do, that he was serious. Although the media quickly debunked and refuted Pres. Trumps false claims, the reporting from various new sources indicates a rise in poison control calls suggestively related to his statement. After this briefing, Pres. Trumps staffing team suggested that his briefings be discontinued, specifically over fear of political damage of his approval ratings. It is irrelevant whether or not the statement was a supposed 'joke', we are in the middle of a global pandemic. The fact is that if it was a joke it was extremely inappropriate and unprofessional, and if it was serious points to many telling points on his understanding of the crisis. Either way, neither is acceptable.
ReplyDeleteI think the media reacted as expected to Trump's comment. The though that someone with as much power as the president would say something so ignorant and uneducated is very concerning. I doubt that Trump was being sarcastic because he has been known to have little to no information about other matters, not just COVID-19. He most likely said that he was sarcastic after receiving all the backlash from the public and realizing that what he said demonstrated that he is indubitably somewhat mentally slow.
ReplyDeleteWhen a leader makes a statement that is as ridiculous and ignorant such as this one, backlash is an expected result of this behavior. I personally believe that questioning his intentions is irrelevant at this point. Whether it was meant as a joke or not, this is certainly not the time to be saying something this unprofessional. We are in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. People want Trump to provide us with an actual solution, rather than a "joke" that some people may take seriously.
ReplyDeleteI think that the media responded appropriately to Trump's statement. When I heard this, he sounded pretty serious. It was not appropriate for him to speak on something like this. First of all, he is not a medical professional. Second, people may take him seriously (without Lysol's warning), putting themselves in danger. He should provide the nation with more factual updates, rather than speculations that could definitely be misinterpreted.
ReplyDeleteFrom his past behavior, it is not far fetched to believe that Trump was being sarcastic, as he is known for his unbelievable remarks on social media. Obviously, like most people, I would've believed that he was just making a joke. For being at such a high status he should show that he has at least some morals. I think other people might have taken it seriously because they may lack knowledge of his past behavior on social media.
ReplyDeleteThere are many who would want Trump out of the office, and I believe there are many media sources who are looking for that perfect moment to strike and catch him off guard. This is an example of that. Because he said something that was not correct, the media can capitalize on that by pointing out the president's flaws. Trump talks in a very interesting way, and I don't believe that he has been sarcastic in a serious situation, so I don't think it was a surprise that he was being sarcastic. I'm not totally sure what your're asking in the last question. The White House wants to make their president look as good as possible, and so they were quick to cover up his remark with the claim that he was being sarcastic. I'm not sure what you mean by handling the situation better.
ReplyDeleteThe POTUS was probably being sarcastic, but in a time of crisis like this, desperate people will take desperate measures, and so the joke (if it even was a joke) was inappropriate. The media debunked it well, I believe, because if they had taken any more time, people could have gotten hurt or killed because of the President's actions.
ReplyDeleteI think that the media debunked this inappropriate joke pretty well by calling out the fact that this is very dangerous. Even if it was a joke during these serious times I do not believe that it was the best choice to make a joke like this as he is the president of the whole entire United States and as many people listen and look up to him. I think that he was attempting to be sarcastic however, in the past I do not believe he has shown as big of a comedic side leading media outlets to believe this joke as facts. I do believe that the media could have handled it a bit better by not taking everything literally, however,they did make a fair point as he is the president.
ReplyDeleteCassie Vass 5th period
DeleteIf he was being sarcastic, he could have at least say it was a joke but instead he thought everyone was on the same page as his so he let it slide. He should know better to clarify. On the other hand, media outlets and people everywhere saw this as an opportunity to strike at him because there are people that want Trump out of office.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the media reacted as expected to Pres. Trumps comment. It was a ridiculous comment, whether it was mean sarcastically or not. He should know that it was an inappropriate comment. If he meant it sarcastically, he should have clarified or made it bluntly obvious that it was a joke. However he was oddly sincere when he made the comment, leading people to believe that he meant it.
ReplyDeleteI think the media reacted how alot of us expected them to react to reply to this silly comment and debunk it. They reacted well but I think this just added fuel to the fire for opposing political parties for another argument to show how President Trump is not the most bright president we've had
ReplyDeleteI find this whole situation completely ridiculous. This is yet another example among countless that the president is nowhere near fit to be in office. If this was indeed a joke as is being claimed by the white house, I don't understand how that would amend the situation by much. This isn't quite the time for jokes and you would hope that one of the most powerful people in the world would be able to 'read the room.' This is one comment in a myriad of others that prove the fact that the president does not think before he speaks. If you listen to one of his speeches and compare it to that of many presidents before him the difference is truly incredible. He rambles and the lack of knowledge on practically every subject is very apparent.
ReplyDeleteI think the media acted appropriately towards Trump's statement. I think even if he was speaking sarcastically or not, Trump should be aware that what he says may be interpreted differently. I do think the White House should have handled the situation better because Trump should not have mentioned these sorts of things without conducting proper research and has the affirmation from leading health researchers. While it's surprising to see Trump say things like this, I'm not surprised from his past behavior and tweets.
ReplyDeleteI don't know exactly what he said, but either way I think in a time of crisis, the time for jokes like this should not be said. Yes, he is known for cracking jokes here and there, but I think he has to better understand he is an influencer, and some people do indeed listen to what he says and some will take it into consideration. He should've at least mumbled a little "I'm just kidding" into the mic after he said it to at least be a little bright, but he didn't and he has to know that the media will react in a bad way even if he himself was to go as far as joking about this.
ReplyDeleteHaving watched the press conference, I believe that his comments were genuine. Based on the tone he was using and his monotone expression, there would be no way for an individual to identify the claims as sarcastic. Had they been stated jokingly, there should still be a form of punishment for his remarks. As the leader of the free world with an audience of hundreds of millions of people, it is unacceptable for Trump to encourage dangerous behavior or spread lies. Not only did he suggest the ingestion of disinfectant, but also the consumption (?) of UV light, which can damage organ tissue.
ReplyDeleteI think that in a time of Panic he shouldn't be saying things without scientific evidence or even jokes because it is such a serious topic. I think he was joking but he didnt use the right tone to get that across.
ReplyDeleteI don't think President Trump was joking exactly, but I also don't think he seriously believes that injecting disinfectants is a good idea. I personally believe he is likely just a really bad public speaker and says whatever comes to his mind without thinking - which is why he makes comments as crazy as these. However, as the president of the United States, he really needs to be more careful with what he says, especially in sensitive and chaotic times like these.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the media tried to make what he said more of a joke. Whereas when he said it, he was not joking. He might not believe that putting clorox and lysol into our bodies an efficient solution but he should not be saying those things. There are people who believe everything that he says and will follow it. There might be people who actually do this and could get seriously hurt.
ReplyDeleteI think that he thought it might be a good idea, but everyone knows injecting disinfectants into your body is a bad idea. I think he said it to give more hope and to get the media buzzing.
ReplyDeleteI think the media did what the media does and reports on anything that they can use to write an article that will get looked at. I don't think that they handled it good or bad, because of how outrageous the statement was. I don't think that he was speaking sarcastically. I think that he is not the smartest person and he was trying to say something to give hope to the scared American people. I think that they could have handled the actual speech a lot better. They were on the right track in terms of trying to provide hope for the people, they just articulated it in a way that made the people more scared because of the idiodicy of their leader.
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