MSNBC host Joe Scarborough said he just simply doesn't believe President Trump is taking Hydroxychloroquine to prevent him from being infected with the Wuhan coronavirus. Scarborough said there is no way he's taking the drug because his own administration says Hydroxychloroquine "will kill him."
Trump announced during a White House event on Monday he's taking Hydroxychloroquine, which he has repeatedly praised as being one of the options for doctors to treat COVID-19 patients.
"And so you have to believe this White House physician understands that the Trump White House is going to end. And when it ends, he’s got to keep his reputation. He’s got to keep his medical license," Scarborough said.
"And the Food and Drug Administration has said, ‘Do not take this outside of the hospital. Do not take this outside of clinical trials.’ You have the V.A. saying, ‘We did a study on this. It wasn’t a huge study, but we did a study on this and it actually increased the likelihood of death.’ Any doctor prescribing that for political purposes, I’ve got to say, puts himself or herself in a very difficult position. So I just don’t believe the President is taking something that his own administration says will kill him," he continued.
Hydroxychloroquine is still being tested to see who effective it is against the novel virus, with a survey from Jackson & Coker in April showed 65% of physicians across the United States said they would prescribe the anti-malaria drugs chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine to treat or prevent COVID-19 in a family member.
Only 11% of doctors said they would not prescribe the drugs at all.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told CNN Monday evening she believed Trump should not be taking Hydroxychloroquine to prevent infection because of his age group and being "morbidly obese."