There will be no more daily White House coronavirus briefings from "Dr. Donald Trump" -- for the time being at least -- after Trump very publicly humiliated himself on April 23 in what some now call "Lysol-gate."
There have been no briefings from April 24 to 27. The briefing for Monday afternoon was transformed into a meeting with corporate CEOs where Trump extolled his alleged accomplishments in the fight versus COVID-19. Trump's scaling back his appearances at these formerly daily events were taken by the White House after Trump made himself the world's laughing stock on April 23 by giving out patently insane medical advice.
Trump asserted a person with COVID-19 can cure himself of the disease in "one minute" by injecting himself with a toxic household disinfectant. The maker of Lysol quickly told people not to do it.
"Dr. Trump" also prescribed another cure for COVID-19. Doctors can cure a person by inserting a burning light, including ultraviolet (UV) light, inside a patient's body, to burn the COVID-19 virus to death.
The very next day, Trump spoke for about 20 minutes and left outdoors answering any questions from reporters about his disinfectant and bright light remarks. This briefing was Trump's shortest in March and April.
Trump usually anywhere from two to three hours talking at the briefings, which he considers an invaluable re-election platform. He held no press briefings on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Trump has held 49 press briefings since the end of February.
On Saturday evening, around the time same time, he's usually talking a lot at these briefings, Trump tweeted the briefings are "Not worth the time & effort!" because he's asked "hostile questions" by the press, who "get record ratings."
The daily briefings have dominated evening cable news and have driven public conversation about the coronavirus. They've not helped boost Trump's popularity, however.
On the other hand, Trump brags about the press briefing's viewership. At one time he said the average ratings of the briefings matched a season finale of "The Bachelor" and "Monday Night Football."
Trump's White House advisers have long suggested he either forgo or cut short the time he spends at these briefings. His humiliating gaffes on April 23 only gave this demand to scale down appearances more impetus.
White House sources what they want is to make sure Trump is "in front of the American people" and showing them he's a leader and in charge.
"Americans want to see their president out front, leading the country through difficult periods, and that's exactly what President Trump is doing," said Tim Murtaugh, Trump's campaign communications director last month. "He and the experts on his Coronavirus Task Force provide much-needed daily updates to citizens and reassure them that their federal government is on the case."
On the other hand, a growing number of Republicans have questioned the advantages of having Trump appear at the briefings seven days a week, contending this increases the chances Trump will make big mistakes.
