The election campaign in the USA is in full swing. US President Biden and his opponent Trump are not saying much about each other. Now the incumbent is rehashing an old idea of his opponent.
US President Joe Biden has taken a dig at his rival Donald Trump and mocked a now infamous statement by his predecessor about using disinfectants to fight the coronavirus.
“I'll never forget how he lied about the pandemic and advised Americans to inject bleach into their skin,” Biden said on Tuesday evening (local time) in a speech at a non-governmental organization's gala. “I wonder if he did that. It would explain a lot.” The 81-year-old Democrat received some laughs from the audience.
In spring 2020 – shortly after the start of the pandemic – then-US President Trump used the comments of a government expert as the basis for his disinfectant statement. An employee of the Department of Homeland Security had explained that bleach and disinfectants quickly kill the coronavirus pathogen on dry metal surfaces such as a door handle.
Trump then raised the question of whether it might be helpful to inject people with disinfectant in the fight against the coronavirus. “It would be interesting to look into that,” he said at a press conference at the time. Ultimately, of course, that is up to doctors, “but it sounds interesting to me.” The Republican's statement sparked international disbelief and horror. Trump later called the disinfectant idea “sarcasm.”
The presidential election in November is head-to-head between Biden and Trump. In his speech, the Democrat again called Trump a “loser”. He stressed: “We are a country of honesty, decency, faith and fairness.” Biden repeatedly attacks Trump publicly and warns that the 77-year-old is a danger to democracy.
