After not mentioning hydroxychloroquine for nearly a month, President Trump now claims he has been taking the anti-malaria drug for the past week and a half to prevent COVID-19 even though there is no empirical evidence to suggest it is a viable therapeutic.
As with nearly everything he says, I don't believe him. For someone who seeks to preserve his power I cannot see him taking such a risk. Hydroxychloroquine is a drug powerful enough to induce a heart attack. It cannot be bought over the counter.
But I can think of why Trump would make such a claim. Because if Trump says he takes hydroxychloroquine, his supporters will follow suit. Assuming it doesn't kill them (like it did for one man out in Arizona) and they don't get COVID-19 then they will claim Trump was right to say it was a "game changer" after all.
Indeed when I heard Trump's revelation I immediately thought of the angry protest in Long Island last week against Governor Andrew Cuomo's New York Pause. One protester was chasing Kevin Vesey, a local TV reporter covering the story. The reporter demanded the protester back off to which he replied, "I've got hydroxychloroquine, I'm fine."
Let us remember that Trump has a made a point of praising these protesters who called reporter Vesey "an enemy of the people" and "a virus". In which case, there is no doubt that Trump saw the fellow who said "I've got hydroxychloroquine". If I were to hazard a guess I believe that video is what is prompted Trump's claims today.
In which case, look for Trump to continue to push hydroxychloroquine from now until election day unless, of course, of bunch of his supporters end up dying in the process. In which case Trump will push something else to motivate his supporters to not only come to the polls but motivate them to hate anyone who dares to be critical of him. Just as there is no miracle drug to cure COVID-19 there is no miracle drug to cure hatred and ignorance.
No comments:
Post a Comment