'Bleachers are back!' Support for ingesting toxic chemicals explodes under Trump

Online communities that advocate the use of a "toxic bleach solution" to treat diseases like cancer, HIV, and even prevent things like autism think they have finally found an ally who will listen to them: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

For years, the Food and Drug Administration has issued warnings about the dangers of using chlorine dioxide to fight illness. The FDA had long issued a warning against it, but in May, that warning disappeared — and so-called "bleachers" are excited that it could be a sign, Wired's David Gilbert reported Monday.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, President Donald Trump was ridiculed after he suggested injecting bleach to fight off the virus.

"And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in one minute," Trump said after suggesting ultraviolet light be "brought inside the body" could fight the virus. "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 on the lungs, so it’d be interesting to check that, so that you’re going to have to use medical doctors with, but it sounds interesting to me. So, we’ll see, but the whole concept of the light, the way it kills it in one minute. That’s pretty powerful."

Michelle Herman, who sells chlorine dioxide in a nasal spray, told Wired, “We are thrilled that RFK Jr is in charge."

The report said that she was photographed "along with other bleach enthusiasts and activists" at an event at Trump's Doral resort in Miami.

There are several different names for chlorine dioxide, Gilbert explained. "Miracle Mineral Solution, Chlorine Dioxide Solution, Water Purification Solution, and God’s Detox," to name a few. It has been a cure-all since the mid-1990s, though there's no evidence of that.

Kennedy hasn't specifically promoted chlorine dioxide or bleach for any cures, but he did reference it when he talked about Trump "looking at all of the different remedies” for COVID.

“The bleachers are back, making connections with powerful people, reaching RFK and Trump,” lamented Ireland-based activist Fiona O’Leary, who has children with autism. She's been fighting the "bleachers" for years.

“Bleachers want RFK to approve chlorine dioxide as a treatment for autism, cancer, and other conditions. It is like watching a horror show," she said.

Having the warning removed was called a "huge boon" for activists "promoting the toxic bleach solution," the report said. But it's also a "first step" in part of a broader effort to mainstream chlorine dioxide.

Herman wants to see the Trump administration hold a roundtable to discuss researching chlorine dioxide and creating standards.

“We know that there is awareness and support for repurposed drugs and what are termed ‘alternative’ therapies, and we hope that the restraints and prosecutions will cease,” Herman said when speaking to Wired.

Meanwhile, scientists have been speaking out about it "for more than a decade now," said O’Leary.

Read the full report at Wired.