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FACT BRIEF

Did Donald Trump suggest ‘people inject versions of poison into their veins’?

By Dana Ford
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NO

A social media post showed a clip of White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki saying, "I would note that at the time, just for context, the former president was also suggesting people inject versions of poison into their veins to cure COVID."

But did President Trump actually say that? Not exactly. 

During an April 2020 news conference, he said, in part:

"And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside, or almost a cleaning? 'Cause you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it'd be interesting to check that."

The next day, he said, "I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters just like you, just to see what would happen."

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
White House Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki (August 11, 2021)
C-SPAN User Clip: Trump with Coronavirus Task Force Briefing (April 23, 2020)
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.