Trump's months-long effort to hype his fake miracle cure for the coronavirus, hydroxychloroquine, may have climaxed yesterday evening as Trump himself told the public that he's taking it as a preventive measure.
Speaking at the White House, Trump claimed he's been taking it every day.
Speaking at a meeting of restaurant executives, Trump said he began taking the antimalarial drug after consulting the White House doctor, though stopped short of saying his physician had actually recommended the drug.
"A couple of weeks ago, I started taking it," Trump said. He later said he'd been taking it every day for a week and a half. [...]
Trump said he hadn't been exposed, and that he started taking the drug because he had heard from frontline responders who sent him letters saying they were taking it preventatively.
"Here's my evidence: I get a lot of positive calls about it," Trump said.
When Trump says he gets a "lot of positive calls" about the drug, what he means is he turned on his television and saw someone promote it on Fox News.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi took some heat from liberals for her comments but, when asked about Trump's revelation, she pointed out that Trump is at extremely high risk of complications from taking it.
Washington — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned Monday that President Trump should not be taking hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug the president has touted as a treatment for COVID-19, given his age and because he is "morbidly obese."
"As far as the president is concerned, he's our president and I would rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists, especially in his age group and in his, shall we say, weight group, morbidly obese, they say," Pelosi said during an interview with CNN on Monday night. "So I think it's not a good idea."
Some have accused Pelosi of "fat shaming" Trump, but the most common and potentially deadly side effects of taking hydroxychloroquine is irregular heartbeart and even failure. Patients treated with hydroxychloroquine in response to the coronavirus are actually more likely to die because of those side effects than they are with regular treatment alone according to records from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Pelosi, along with numerous public health experts, made these comments because Trump claiming he personally takes hydroxychloroquine will probably lead to more of his supporters taking it a home and, in some cases, killing themselves.
Personally, they can kill themselves in Trump's honor for all I care, but that's why I'm not a member of Congress or involved in public health.
I do not actually believe Trump is taking hydroxychloroquine because it simply makes no sense at all. It wouldn't make sense even if Trump had been infected and it makes even less sense if he hasn't been. The risks of taking it are far too high under almost any circumstances and taking it when you have no legitimate reason to is like playing Russian Roulette by yourself.
Trump's White House doctor, Navy Commander Sean Conley, claims they discussed the drug and agreed that the benefits of taking it outweigh the risks.
That is either a lie or Commander Conley has no business treating anyone for anything. I wouldn't trust Conley with anything.