The assertion has made a comeback following the congressional testimony of Dr Anthony Fauci, who served in administrations under both Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
WASHINGTON, DC: In the wake of intense discussion and debate surrounding Dr Anthony Fauci‘s recent Senate hearing regarding the origins of COVID-19, a familiar social media rumor has reemerged. The viral claim alleges that former President Donald Trump once advised citizens to inject bleach as a treatment for the virus, sparking a wave of online criticism and necessitating a closer look at the facts.
Claim: Donald Trump told people to inject bleach to combat COVID-19
According to the widespread online narrative, Trump explicitly instructed the public to “inject bleach” into their bodies to fight off the infection.
One post shared on X read, “People are dogpiling on Dr. Fauci as a way to get people to forget that Trump suggested people inject bleach in their veins to cure Covid.”
This narrative was widely shared across Facebook, Instagram, and X, accumulating hundreds of thousands of views around the time of the Senate proceedings.
Fact Check: Did Donald Trump explicitly tell people to use bleach as a cure?
While it is true that during an April 2020 White House press briefing, Trump publicly asked members of the coronavirus task force to explore whether disinfectants could potentially be introduced into the body to treat COVID-19, he did not directly command individuals to inject bleach into themselves.
When pressed later by reporters about whether common cleaning agents like bleach or isopropyl alcohol were meant for injection, Trump clarified that such substances would be utilized for sterilizing surfaces rather than internal use. Consequently, fact-checkers generally rate the viral claim as mostly true with important context lacking.
The rumor has periodically resurfaced since 2020, having first been highlighted during the initial outbreak by the digital campaign teams of then-candidates Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Timing of the resurfaced rumor following Anthony Fauci’s testimony
The reappearance of the bleach claim coincided with high-profile congressional oversight hearings involving Dr. Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
During the Capitol proceedings, Fauci faced sharp questioning from Republican senators, notably led by Rand Paul. Rather than answering specific inquiries, Fauci exercised his Fifth Amendment rights on numerous occasions.
The hearing centered on allegations that Fauci may have misled Congress regarding the origins of COVID-19, federal funding allocated for specific research projects, pandemic-era public health directives, and the handling of government records.
Throughout the scrutiny, Fauci has firmly rejected accusations that he misled lawmakers or financed research linked to the emergence of the pandemic. He has maintained that his actions aligned with the scientific consensus and evidence available at the time, while remaining open to continued scientific inquiry.