But Friday’s unusually succinct update came a day after Trump ignited another controversy for suggesting that doctors should determine whether an “injection” of household disinfectants, such as bleach and isopropyl alcohol, could be used to kill Covid-19 in humans who contract the virus. Trump later claimed he was “asking a question sarcastically … about disinfectant on the inside.”

“I do think that disinfectant on the hands could have a very good effect,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “But I’d like them now to look as it pertains to the human body. … I’d like to look as it pertains because maybe there’s something there.”

Trump has been so eager to deliver good news to the American public, according to a senior administration official, that some White House staffers have presented their boss with upbeat findings that have yet to be vetted by task force officials, the staff secretary’s office or, in some cases, legal aides in the White House counsel’s office.

In an exchange on Thursday, Trump cited “a very nice rumor” that heat and sunlight can kill the novel coronavirus. At previous briefings, he has also hyped the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a potential promising treatment even though its effectiveness against Covid-19 remains inconclusive.

Recently, several White House aides began urging the president to make the briefings far shorter and to approach the podium only to deliver announcements or tout victories, while leaving the technical aspects to the numerous health officials who typically join him at the dais. One Trump adviser said the ideal briefing would be 30 minutes long: 10 minutes for Trump, 10 minutes for his health officials and a final 10 minutes for questions.

After several of Trump’s briefing room appearances approached two hours in length in late March, less than a third of Americans said they found the updates useful, according to a poll by Business Insider .

Some task force officials have complained privately that the length of the briefings can be draining and has often left them too tired to fulfill other media opportunities that could have supported the administration’s larger cause in taming the virus.

“The president should definitely take advantage when he has something to announce, but if it’s simply a check-in from the day before, I would hand it off to the scientific folks or the economic response team,” said Jason Miller, a former Trump campaign and transition official.

Trump has resisted such advice for weeks, viewing the daily briefings as an ideal venue for him to connect with his supporters and perform his favorite tricks. In the absence of campaign rallies or other outlets for his message, Trump has used the briefings to needle his political opponents, smack reporters and air grievances about previous White House occupants, including former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

Even after campaign aides briefed him on a series of unsettling polls about his appearances, Trump continued making the case privately that his sky-high television ratings would help him trounce Biden in November, according to two people familiar with the president’s thinking. His logic failed to take into account the reality that not every American who tunes in to the nightly briefings will ultimately vote for Trump in the fall, especially suburban and female voters, about whom White House advisers have long worried.

“He’s going to want to get media attention and control his message,” said Sam Nunberg, who briefly served on Trump’s 2016 campaign. “He is the only one who thinks he can do his message the best, and that’s just the reality. That’s how he works.”