At the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Trump had suggested using hydroxychloroquine as a medicine to combat the disease. Now, we learn that he has been taking the anti-malarial drug ever since White House personnel were infected with the virus. Is an injection of disinfectant next?
When Trump first began touting the drug, medical experts immediately warned against its use, stating that it had no preventive measures against COVID-19. The drug is reported to deliver serious side effects and it could be even more lethal for someone such as Trump who has a common heart disease.
“It seems to me a crazy thing to do,” said David Juurlink, head of clinical pharmacology at the University of Toronto. “If the drug had no side effects, it would be a reasonable thing to do.”
Trump was also assailed by Neil Cavuto of Fox News who was shocked to hear of the admission. “It will kill you,” Cavuto said. “I cannot stress enough. It will kill you.”
Cavuto was further outraged when Trump, in response to his taking the drug, said “What have you got to lose?” It is hoped that countless number of people with health issues and are vulnerable to a dosage of the drug will not follow Trump.
Lashing back at Cavuto, Trump said he was through with Fox and will seek another platform, perhaps ending his love affair with the station. “Looking for a new outlet,” Trump tweeted, after calling Cavuto an assortment of vile comments and invoking Roger Ailes, a former chair and CEO of Fox News. “We miss the great Roger Ailes,” Trump declared. “You have more anti-Trump people, by far than ever before.”
It’s hard to imagine where Trump can land that will give him the exposure and praise he’s received on Fox News.
But like so much of what he says at one point of anger and derision is walked back moments later.