I think even more predictable is the apologist tour the day afterwards trying to convince us the American President is not, in fact, a moron.

Here's the briefing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsQnfpfIa_o.

Can you please point out the timestamp when Trump attempted to clarify?

The closest I found was at ~31:00, some reporter asks for confirmation that there's no scenario in which disinfectants would be injected into the body. Bryan declines to comment, Trump responds with "maybe it works, maybe it doesn't work," which doesn't really provide any clarity.

And then at ~50:00 he asks Bryan to "talk to the medical doctors" to look at applying light and heat as a cure. Then he says "maybe it works, maybe it doesn't. I'm not a doctor, but I am a person with a very good you-know-what."

Some reporter suggests that the President of the United States should not spout random stuff and say "maybe it works, maybe it doesn't", Trump responds with "I'm the president, and you're fake news."

The people that are downvoting aren't interested in the actual facts or having an objective discussion about what he actually "meant". They just don't like Trump. Pretty sad for a forum with so many intelligent people on it.

Why should intelligent people prioritize interpreting foolish remarks in pursuit of some deeper meaning that would validate them?

It's not just a matter of not liking Trump. I don't like Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping, but they're not fools or clowns.