Four years ago this week, President Donald J. Trump suggested that Americans might want to inject disinfectants into their bodies to treat the coronavirus.
The Biden campaign’s goal is to make sure no one forgets this.
On Air Force One, on social media and at the presidential lectern, President Biden has focused on the infamous moment — one that encapsulated the chaos of the Trump presidency — as he trolls his political opponent.
“Do you remember when he was trying to deal with Covid he said to just inject a little bleach into your veins?” That’s what Mr. Biden said on Wednesday after winning the support of North American construction unions. “He missed it. Everything got to him.”
Just a day earlier, Mr. Biden shared a video of Mr. Trump’s suggestion of injecting disinfectant on X, the platform officially known as Twitter.
“Don’t inject bleach,” Mr. Biden said. “And don’t vote for the guy who told you to inject bleach.”
Early in Mr Biden’s presidency, he rarely publicly mentioned Mr Trump by name as he sought to return the country to normality. That seemed like wishful thinking. As the 2024 campaign heats up, Mr Biden is taking on his predecessor in a more forceful – and personal – manner.
In the early days of the pandemic, Mr. Trump said during a White House briefing that an “injection” of a disinfectant such as bleach or isopropyl alcohol into the human body could help fight the virus.
“And then I see the disinfectant that will knock it out in a minute,” Trump said.
“One minute,” he said. “And is there a way to do something like that, by injecting it internally or by essentially cleaning it? Because as you can see, it goes into the lungs and has a huge effect on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that.”
The comments immediately caused an uproar. Callers flooded health hotlines with questions about Mr. Trump’s comments. Some states had to immediately ask people not to consume detergent pods or disinfectants.
The makers of Clorox and Lysol urged Americans not to inject or ingest their products. Now the Biden campaign is about asking the American people not to vote for the man who suggested this.
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2024-04-24 21:49:29
www.nytimes.com
