Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer questioned whether President Trump is actually taking hydroxychloroquine and speculated that he made the claim because someone close to him has financial ties to the drug.
On Monday, Trump announced he’s been taking the anti-malarial medication, which has not been proven to prevent or treat the coronavirus, after frequently touting the drug throughout the pandemic. Schumer called the revelation “reckless” during a Tuesday interview on Morning Joe.
“When you run away from the truth, when you just do something that appeals to your ego, whether it’s true or not, every day, you will not succeed in either the health crisis or the economic crisis. And what he did last night is just an example, as you mentioned. It’s reckless to tell people he’s using [hydroxychloroquine],” the top Senate Democrat said.
“So, I don’t know why he did it. Maybe he has family or friends who own part of the company,” he added. “It’s not unlike this president. Someone at Mar-a-Lago or someone on the phone tells him, ‘Oh, this is a good company,’ and he just talks about it. Maybe he did it to divert attention from all the bad things happening, and maybe he’s just lying. This president doesn’t tell the truth. He may be taking this, may not.”
Schumer’s speculation that the president is not actually taking hydroxychloroquine echoed the sentiment that Joe Scarborough, the namesake of Morning Joe, made during the show’s opening.
“Let me assure you, the president of the United States is not taking hydroxychloroquine,” the host said.
Conversely, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany described the president’s decision to reveal he’s taking the medication as an example of his “transparency.”
“The president just wanted to be transparent about his personal health decision that he made in consultation with his doctor,” she said in an interview with Fox & Friends.
