Playbook PM:

WE ALL USED OUR OWN EYES AND EARS Thursday to witness -- either in person, or on a screen -- President DONALD TRUMP suggest that disinfectants might be able to help cure the body of Covid-19.

WE WATCHED HIM MOTION TOWARD DEBORAH BIRX while he asked her to study this, along with whether ultraviolet lights might also cure the disease.

WE WATCHED HIM call @PhilipRucker “fake news” bc he suggested people want to hear more than just rumors during the White House briefings -- the president said he was just there to deliver “ideas,” and people should still consult with doctors.

MANY OF US ALSO KNOW -- because we are functioning human beings on planet Earth who were not born yesterday -- that it’s not prudent to put such substances inside your body because they can make you really sick, or perhaps kill you.

BUT HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED since the president said that.

> @PressSec issued a statement: backing up POTUS

-- MORE THAN 100 PEOPLE called Maryland’s emergency hotline asking about this. This led to the state having to issue a statement urging ppl to not ingest disinfectants. https://twitter.com/MDMEMA/status/1253721510570844162?s=20

-- THE MAKER OF LYSOL put out a public statement saying that “under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route).”

-- SCOTT GOTTLIEB -- TRUMP’S former FDA director -- went on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” to say: “I think we need to speak very clearly. There’s no circumstance under which you should take a disinfectant or inject a disinfectant for the treatment of anything"

THE PRESIDENT THEN SAID today in the Oval Office that he was “asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you just to see what would happen,” per the print pooler, Chris Johnson of the Washington Blade.