For once in his life, Trump scared himself at a coronavirus briefing gone wrong

Since making a blunder late last week, the president has seemed cowed. But Phil Thomas doesn’t expect his reticence to last that long

At the now-infamous briefing, Trump suggested people might be able to inject themselves with disinfectant to 'clean out' coronavirus (Reuters)

For weeks, advisers have apparently been urging Donald Trump to take a step back from his daily White House briefings on the coronavirus pandemic, fearing he may have been doing himself more harm than good.

Appearing alongside his top health chiefs, the president has attempted to exploit the events to lavish himself with praise, demean the media and insult his political opponents. Clearly, he is doing everything he can to change the perception that he failed miserably in his first major crisis since entering the White House.