NANCY Pelosi has called Donald Trump “morbidly obese” as she insisted that the president is putting himself at risk by taking hydroxychloroquine.
During an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Monday night, Pelosi shared her concerns about the president’s decision.
The House Speaker started by congratulating Cooper on the birth of his son, Wyatt Morgan, before discussing her concerns about Trump taking the malaria drug.
Pelosi said: “As far as the president is concerned, he’s our president and I would rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientist.
“Especially in his age group and in his – shall we say – weight group, what is morbidly obese they say – so, I think it’s not a good idea.”
In February last year, the president weighed in at 243 lbs and measured at 6 foot 3 inches tall, the BBC reported.
According to the CDC, Trump’s alleged BMI of 30.4 would place him in the obese category.
A BMI of 40 or above would constitute as severely obese, the website states.
On Monday, Trump revealed he has been taking a hydroxychloroquine pill every day for over a week to stave off coronavirus.
The president said he’d been taking it for a “couple of weeks” after receiving a letter from a New York doctor based in Westchester, who supposedly used it to treat over 300 COVID-19 patients.
“I take it,” Trump told reporters during a meeting with restaurant industry leaders on Monday.
“Frontline workers take it, doctors take it, I take it,” he said. “I’m not going to get hurt by it, it’s been around for 40 years
“I would have told you that three or four days ago [but you never asked] the question.”
Even Fox News host Neil Cavuto expressed surprise at Trump’s revelation.
Cavuto warned viewers: “It will kill you. I cannot stress enough.”
He added: “This is a leap that should not be taken casually by those watching at home, or assuming, well the president of the United States says it’s OK…I only make this not to make a political point here, but a life-and-death point. Be very, very careful.”
The president revealed that the White House doctor had prescribed it for him after he inquired about the potential treatment, also used to treat lupus and arthritis.
“I’ve shown always negative [for coronavirus] right,” Trump said. “I take it because I hear very good things. You have to go to frontline workers — many frontline workers take it.
“I hope they come up with some answer but I think people should be allowed to [take it].”
“I started taking it, because I think it’s good,” Trump said. “I’ve heard a lot of good stories.
He took a swipe at HHS whistleblower Dr Rick Bright who testified about the Feds’ “absurd” three month delay in responding to his virus warnings.
THE drug, which is typically used to treat malaria, has become the first to be approved to treat coronavirus in the US.
Hydroxychloroquine has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and is available for prescription.
However, there are doubts about the anti-malarial drug’s effectiveness – and safety.
The Food and Drug Administration warned health professionals last month that the drug should not be used to treat COVID-19 outside of hospital or research settings, due to sometimes fatal side effects.
Regulators issued the alert for the drug, which can also be used to treat lupus and arthritis, after receiving reports of heart-rhythm problems, including deaths, from poison control centers and other health providers.
Two large observational studies, each involving around 1,400 patients in New York, recently found no benefit from hydroxychloroquine.
Two new ones published Thursday in the medical journal BMJ reached the same conclusion.
“He’s the one who signed the application,” Trump raged, saying he had heard “bad things” about the vaccine expert.
Mounting evidence shows this anti-malaria drug isn’t effective in fighting coronavirus, however.
Recent studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine both concluded that hydroxychloroquine can’t treat COVID-19.
The drug has the potential to cause significant side effects in some patients and has not been shown to combat the new coronavirus.
Trump had previously stopped Dr Anthony Fauci from discussing the medication during an April press briefing after the US brought 29 million doses of it.
The top doc was reportedly concerned that the drug had not been proven to work — which Trump acknowledged “might be correct, it might be false.”
Though it was the first coronavirus treatment to be approved, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have since issued a hydroxychloroquine warning due to the increased risk of heart problems.
“The FDA is aware of reports of serious heart rhythm problems in patients with COVID-19 treated with hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, often in combination with azithromycin and other QT prolonging medicines,” their advisory read.
“We are also aware of increased use of these medicines through outpatient prescriptions.
“We would like to remind health care professionals and patients of the known risks associated with both hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine.”
The stark warning said this drug can cause abnormal heart rhythms and a rapid heart rate, as well as heart and kidney disease in patients with underlying conditions.
Two large observational studies, each involving around 1,400 patients in New York, recently found no benefit from hydroxychloroquine. Two new studies published Thursday in the medical journal BMJ reached the same conclusion.
One, by French researchers, gave 84 hospitalized patients the drug and 97 others the usual care. There were no differences in the odds of death, need for intensive care or developing severe illness.
The other study from China was a stricter test: 150 adults hospitalized with mild or moderate illness were randomly assigned to get hydroxychloroquine or usual care.
The drug made no difference in rates of clearing the virus or time to relief of symptoms, and they brought more side effects.
In April, the National Institutes of Health launched a study testing hydroxychloroquine versus a placebo drug in 500 hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
Last week, NIH announced another study to see if hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin can prevent hospitalization or death in people with mild to moderate illness.
About 2,000 US adults with confirmed coronavirus infections and symptoms such as fever, cough or shortness of breath will get the drugs or placebo pills.
But Trump was adamant that word-of-mouth from medics he spoke to over the phone was proof enough.
“Here’s my evidence,” he said, insisting he was not exposed to the virus despite the West Wing contagion. “I get a lot of positive calls about it.”
During the lively Q&A session, Trump also said he rejected an invitation to address the WHO due to their “very sad job” addressing the coronavirus fight.
