President Trump suggested medical workers treat coronavirus with a disinfectant ‘injection’, which could help ‘clean’ lungs. Yahoo Finance’s Rick Newman joins the On The Move panel to weigh in.

Video Transcript

ADAM SHAPIRO: Pay attention to what President Trump said yesterday about disinfectants and killing COVID-19.

DONALD TRUMP: 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? Because you see, it gets in the lungs, and it does a tremendous number in the lungs. So it'd be interesting to check that, so that you're going to have to use medical doctors. But it sounds-- it sounds interesting to me.

ADAM SHAPIRO: I want to bring Rick Newman in to discuss all of this. And we should point out that this morning, the president's official press secretary tweeted that President Trump has repeatedly said that Americans should consult with medical doctors regarding coronavirus treatment, a point that he emphasized again during yesterday's briefing. Leave it to the media to irresponsibly take President Trump out of context and run with negative headlines.

But the maker, was it of Lysol, Rick, felt that it was necessary to warn people do not inject Lysol after what President Trump had said.

RICK NEWMAN: That's correct. These daily presidential briefings have basically become quackery. And people can listen to what Trump said and decide you don't need context.

I mean, there he was. There is another thing circulating on Twitter and social media today showing Dr. Deborah Birx, her reaction off to the side when Trump said that, and a few other things. She looks like her head is about to explode.

So Lysol now saying, look-- I mean, unbelievable. I mean, it says this right on the bottle. But this is not for internal consumption.

What this was all about was some new testing from the government that shows the virus does not survive as well in bright sunlight as it does in shade. And as we all know, disinfectants kill the virus on surfaces. So Trump taking this to some unforeseen place, and suggesting that we should use disinfectants as a treatment for human people. Do not try this at home.

JULIE HYMAN: Sorry Rick, it's Julie here. I wanted to ask you about--

RICK NEWMAN: I know. We're all flabbergasted, speechless, I know.

JULIE HYMAN: I just wanted to ask about FDA and chloroquine. Because the Food and Drug Administration has also now put out a warning to tell people not to take that drug, which is also something that the president has talked about as a possible treatment. Although there is actual clinical testing of it going on in China, a study of it had to be halted because not only wasn't it working, apparently there was a higher death rate.

RICK NEWMAN: Right, this is chloroquine, or hydrochloroquine. The FDA has said do not use this as a treatment unless doctors prescribe it in a hospital. And one of the problems has been it causes heart rhythm problems. That is a side effect.

So this is an anti-malarial drug. And Trump has called it a game changer. It is not a game changer. And people, you just cannot self-medicate here. Don't.

I mean, I don't know how much more we can say. Like don't listen to Trump's medical advice. Just don't listen to it. It makes no sense.

And that's why the White House is coming out and saying, well, President Trump has always said consult your doctor first. But it's very powerful when the president's saying something from the podium on national TV. I mean, you've got to believe there are some people who might take him at his word.

ADAM SHAPIRO: It's kind of like that old ad, I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV. Real quick, Joe Biden--

RICK NEWMAN: He doesn't even play a doctor on TV.

ADAM SHAPIRO: Real quick, Joe Biden has said that he expects President Trump would try to delay the presidential election. Could the president do that? Or is Biden trying to-- is this a red herring?

RICK NEWMAN: Well, the president probably cannot do it unilaterally. I mean, this is in the Constitution. And it would probably take some action from Congress to do that. And, of course, the House of Representatives controlled by Democrats is not going to do that.

But look, we know how Trump operates. He can put this out there and say we ought to do it, and then generate some support for this idea, even if it doesn't happen. What Trump is setting this up possibly is calling into question the credibility of the election in November if he loses.