Trump tweets virus briefings maybe ‘not worth the time’

Bloomberg

President Donald Trump has been determined to talk his way through the coronavirus crisis, but frequent misstatements at his daily news conferences have caused a litany of public health and political headaches for the White House.
Trump sought to clean up his briefing room riff from the day before about the possibility of fighting coronavirus infection in patients with chemical disinfectant or sunlight — a dangerous idea that doctors and a manufacturer of cleaning products felt obliged to publicly warn against. By April 25, Trump suggested the briefings, which have become a televised daily substitute for his campaign rallies, were “not worth the time and effort,” a day after a report that he plans to scale back such appearances.
Trump said he had “sarcastically” suggested Americans be injected with disinfectant. The president’s new spokeswoman also sought to clarify his remarks. “President Trump has repeatedly said that Americans should consult with medical doctors regarding coronavirus treatment, a point that he emphasized again during yesterday’s briefing,” the press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, said. “Leave it to the media to
irresponsibly take President Trump out of context and run with negative headlines.”
Trump’s most public response to the US coronavirus outbreak has been the extended news conferences he’s held almost every day, including most weekends, to talk about it. He pulled off his 2016 election upset and survived the Russia investigation and impeachment in part due to his ability to dominate media coverage. But the president has never been known as a detail-oriented leader and his off-the-cuff briefings have left many Americans distrustful of what he says.
As questions mounted about Trump’s comments on disinfectant, Trump and his coronavirus task force held their shortest news conference yet, at just 22 minutes. He took no questions.
There was no briefing on April 25 but instead, a series of Twitter messages that returned to familiar targets including the media and Democrats. Just 23% of Americans consider Trump a trustworthy source of information on the virus, while 52% trust their state and local leaders, according to poll by the Associated Press and NORC at the University of Chicago.
Trump’s remarks followed a presentation by a Department of Homeland Security undersecretary, Bill Bryan, who showed White House reporters new research indicating the virus wouldn’t survive as long on nonporous surfaces in higher temperatures and humidity. The research suggested summer heat could help temper the US outbreak, at least temporarily, although places in warm climates such as Singapore are still battling their own outbreaks.
After Bryan’s presentation, Trump chimed in, off script.
Even government health authorities have been forced to rebut the president. The Food and Drug Administration cautioned against the use of two drugs Trump has promoted to treat coronavirus infection, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine. The malaria medicine has not been shown to be effective against the virus.