President Donald Trump got busted telling yet another lie in the middle of a pandemic on Thursday when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) contradicted him moments after he claimed the agency had just approved a new drug to treat coronavirus.
During his press conference, Trump once again gave false hope to Americans by insisting that a drug known as chloroquine had just been approved by the FDA for use in treating the virus, which has infected nearly 14,000 and has killed at least 200.
“Normally the FDA would take a long time to approve something like that, and it’s — it was approved very, very quickly and it’s now approved by prescription,” Trump claimed. “It’s been around for a long time, so we know that if things don’t go as planned it’s not going to kill anybody.”
Chloroquine is most known as a treatment for malaria.
Just 25 minutes later, however, the FDA revealed that Trump lied through his teeth.
“We want to do that in a setting of a clinical trial,” FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said, pointing out that no such approval has been given to prescribing it to treat coronavirus patients yet.
Twitter had a field day with Trump getting fact-checked by the FDA.
11:47: *TRUMP SAYS FDA HAS APPROVED CHLOROQUINE FOR USE IN COVID-19
11:48: *TRUMP SAYS STILL COLLECTING EVIDENCE OF CHLOROQUINE EFFICACY
11:48: *TRUMP SAYS CHLOROQUINE RISKS LOW AND ARE WELL-KNOWN
12:12: *FDA SAYS IT HAS NOT APPROVED CHLOROQUINE FOR COVID-19 USE
— Emma Kinery (@EmmaKinery) March 19, 2020
Another Trump atrocity- He lied a/b the FDA approving a drug to treat COVID-19. Raising false hopes, misleading people & treating a pandemic like a PR exercise. His inability to face reality, his need to hide reality & his need to push a fake reality, won’t work during a pandemic https://t.co/dVOSVCxYKy
— Tom Joseph (@TomJChicago) March 19, 2020
The FDA now disputes what Trump said this morning about a coronavirus vaccine, because he’s completely full of shit.
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) March 19, 2020
MISINFORMATION ALERT
In his news conference today, @realDonaldTrump told the nation that chloroquine has been approved by the FDA to treat Covid-19.
As @US_FDA clarified, that is not true.
Chloroquine is dangerous or fatal if misused. Check with your doctor before taking.
— Jim Himes (@jahimes) March 19, 2020
Trump: Its a hoax.
WHO: No its not.Trump: It’s the flu
CDC: No its not.Trump: Vaccine in 3 mos.
Industry: No.Trump: Whoever wants a test can get it.
Pence: No they cant.Trump: Theres a medicine to treat it.
FDA: No there isnt.Trump: a clear & present danger to the USA.
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) March 19, 2020
Donald Trump, a man that doesn’t think before he speaks…
Claims: “FDA HAS APPROVED CHLOROQUINE FOR USE IN COVID-19…”Once again:
Not true…
False…
Incorrect…
Erroneous…
Inaccurate…#QuarentineLife #CoronaVirusUpdate— Bob Marsdale (@BobMarsdale) March 20, 2020
I don’t think he understands the difference between Australia has seen some encouraging results in a trial and the FDA has approved it for use, nor does he have a clue about how much time is needed in between these two things. https://t.co/j9lC90qLRw
— Khashoggi’s Ghost (@UROCKlive1) March 19, 2020
It should be pointed out that chloroquine can be dangerous and even fatal is not taken correctly. It’s also important to public safety that the FDA evaluate a potential treatment before it gets released to the public, lest it make the crisis even worse.
Trump is only embarrassing himself and hurting the country every time he participates in these press conferences. It is long past time that he step aside, keep his mouth shut, and leave these press conferences to the health professionals, whom he should have been listening to in the first place.
Featured Image: Screenshot
