Fauci was concerned people would do ‘dangerous and foolish’ things after Trump suggested injecting disinfectant

Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in an interview with CNN on Monday night that he was concerned about how Americans would respond after former President Trump suggested that people could inject disinfectants as a way to treat the coronavirus.

Following a presentation in April from a Department of Homeland Security official about the effects of sunlight and disinfectants on the virus, Trump during a press briefing turned toward his own officials and mused about whether disinfectants could be used as a treatment in human bodies.

“I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute,” Trump said. “One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning?”

Fauci said he and others attempted to discredit the notion as soon as they could.

“You’re going to have people who hear that from the president and they’re going to start doing dangerous and foolish things, which is the reason why, immediately, those of us who were not there said, ‘This is something you should not do.’ Be very explicit. The CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] came out, I think the next day, and put in one of their publications, ‘Do not do this,'” Fauci told CNN’s Erin Burnett. 

Trump later said that the comment was sarcastic.

Fauci told CNN that the former president was getting a combination of “good information and bad information” amid the ongoing pandemic.

“Unfortunately, the concept of anecdotal as opposed to science-driven information seemed to prevail above that,” Fauci said.

“I think if you look at the pushback that I got from people in the White House, including the president, about hydroxychloroquine was one of the reasons why I felt it was essential for me, not in a confrontative way, I took no great pleasure out of contradicting the President, but I had to get out just to maintain my own integrity, but also to be standing up for science that the data did not show what they were claiming,” Fauci continued. 

Fauci has maintained that the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine is not an effective treatment for COVID-19. Trump has touted the drug as a “miracle” amid the pandemic.