By Emily Goodin, Senior U.S. Political Reporter In Houston, Texas

Published: 15:46 EDT, 21 March 2024 | Updated: 16:59 EDT, 21 March 2024

President Joe Biden mocked Donald Trump's suggestion during the COVID pandemic to inject bleach, joking the former president must have done it himself.

‘Remember when he told people to inject bleach. He must have done it,’ Biden told a crowd of trial lawyers at a fundraiser Thursday in Houston.

He also noted that Trump 'told us to hit the body with UV light, which I'm confident he does.'

The crowd roared with applause.

President Joe Biden mocked Donald Trump at his fundraiser in Houston on Thursday

Biden has made Trump his number one target when he speaks to crowds of his supporters in private homes to raise funds for his reelection campaign.

Trump made his comments about using bleach and UV light in April 2020. 

'So, supposing we hit the body with a tremendous — whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light — and I think you said that that hasn’t been checked, but you’re going to test it. And then I said, supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way, and I think you said you’re going to test that, too. It sounds interesting,' he said at the time.

'And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. 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 would be interesting to check that,' the former president said at the time.

Trump did not explicitly recommend ingesting a disinfectant like bleach. But that is what his comments seemed to suggest, leading many medical authorities to warn people not to do it. 

Meanwhile Biden, had three fundraisers in Texas over Wednesday and Thursday, raising millions for his 2024 campaign.

The focus of the majority of his comments was Trump.

At his two fundraisers in Dallas on Wednesday night, Biden mocked Trump's massive legal debt and branded Ted Cruz a ‘loser’ as he asked Texans for their support.

‘Just the other day this defeated looking man came up to me and said: “Mr. President I need your help. I’m in crushing debt. I’m completely wiped out.”’

Biden said he responded: ‘Donald, I’m sorry. I can’t help you.’

The crowd of about 100 people burst into laughter and applause.

Donald Trump, as president, famously advised Americans about injecting bleach to fight covid

Trump’s legal debts could come close to half a billion dollars.

In New York, a judge ordered Trump to $355 million in fines, plus interest, after ruling that he had manipulated his net worth in financial statements. The state could seize his property if Trump can’t pay.

New York Attorney General Letitia James noted the interest payments totaled $99 million and would ‘continue to increase every single day until it is paid.’

The former president also was ordered to pay $83.3 million to the writer E. Jean Carroll for damaging her reputation after she accused him of sexual assault.

Biden spent most of the night ripping the opposition.

He asked the crowd not only to elect him, but to send the Democratic senatorial candidate to Washington so Republican Senator ‘Ted Cruz joins another loser, Donald Trump.’

Biden, 81, noted there was a lot of talk about his and Trump’s ages.

‘I’m 41,’ Biden joked as the crowd laughed.

But Biden added, ‘it’s about the age of our ideals.’

Biden also called Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas (above) a 'loser'

Lit by the tail lights of President Joe Biden's motorcade, Carlisle Oellerman, 8, holds a hand written sign she made that says "we love you," as Biden arrives for a campaign fundraise

The president also blasted Trump for the trouble at the border, blaming the mess on his rival.

‘Trump didn’t just bring chaos to Americans. He also brought chaos to the American border,’ Biden said.

He blamed the former president for killing a bipartisan border bill in Congress by coming out against it. It has passed the Senate but House Speaker Mike Johnson refused to bring it to the floor after Trump announced his opposition.

‘Unlike Trump, I'm not gonna demonize immigrants,’ Biden said.

Biden has been on a southwest campaign swing to keep the battleground states of Nevada and Arizona in his corner.

The incumbent president won both states in the 2020 election but Trump currently leads in the polls there. 

Biden is capping off his trip with a fundraising swing in Texas. He has one more in Houston on Thursday.