During a House Oversight Committee hearing on Monday, Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin repeated a discredited claim about President Donald Trump allegedly telling people to inject themselves with bleach to combat COVID-19. This statement was made in the context of discussing Trump, now the presumptive GOP presidential candidate.
Raskin, a Maryland congressman and the top Democrat on the committee, remarked that those “bowing down to a twice-impeached convicted felon, who told Americans to inject themselves with bleach, now want you to believe not only a big political lie but a big medical lie too.” The hearing was focused on the federal government’s transparency in its COVID pandemic response and featured testimony from then NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci.
President Biden similarly repeated the false bleach claim during his campaign trail this year, which led to an embarrassing fact-check by the left-leaning PolitiFact in March. Biden stated, “Trump told Americans all they had to do was inject bleach in themselves, remember that? Not a joke, you think I am making this up. Just take a shot of UV light.”
The White House clarified to PolitiFact that Biden was referring to an April 23, 2020, White House press briefing where William Bryan, undersecretary for science and technology at the Department of Homeland Security, discussed the virus’ survival under certain conditions. Bryan mentioned that cleaning agents like bleach could kill SARS-CoV-2 on surfaces, and UV rays could significantly reduce the virus’s half-life.
During the briefing Trump mentioned Bryans idea about using light or disinfectant to combat COVID 19. Bryan later clarified that he was referring to UV exposure, not injection.
However the media continued to focus on Trumps comments leading to a response from his campaign when Biden brought up the issue during his campaign. Trumps campaign press secretary criticized Bidens claims as misinformation and lies in an interview, with WRAL TV.
