Nancy Pelosi concerned about Trump being 'morbidly obese' while taking hydroxychloroquine
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi appeared on Anderson Cooper 360 Monday night where she used some less-than-flattering language when voicing concerns about President Trump’s use of hydroxychloroquine. Earlier in the day, Trump revealed that he’s using the controversial drug as a preventative measure against the coronavirus after multiple White House staffers recently tested positive for the virus. Trump has repeatedly pushed the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the coronavirus, though studies have shown no benefits. In fact, it can be dangerous for those in vulnerable populations. Pelosi cited Trump’s age and weight as reasons for concern.
“He’s our president and I would rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists,” Pelosi said, “especially in his age group and his, shall we say, weight group. Morbidly obese, they say.”
CNN contributor Dr. Jonathan Reiner, director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at George Washington University and former White House medical advisor, was also concerned about the president’s age and weight.
“We know, because he’s almost 74 and he has some evidence of heart disease, and he’s clearly obese, we know that he has a substantial risk of dying from COVID-19,” Reiner said, “maybe somewhere between 15 and 20 percent.”
Reiner went on to question if the use of hydroxychloroquine would increase or decrease the risk for the president, but also pointed out that Trump’s medical team has the capability to mitigate that risk.
Over on Fox News, although he didn’t mention Trump’s weight, Neil Cavuto earned himself several unfavorable retweets from Trump for warning his viewers not to follow the president’s lead.
“If you are in a risky population here and you are taking this as a preventative treatment to ward off the virus, or in a worst case scenario you are dealing with the virus, and you are in this vulnerable population, it will kill you,” Cavuto said. “I cannot stress enough: This will kill you.”
Later, also on Fox News, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was concerned with Trump’s logic in using hydroxychloroquine, harkening back to early April when Trump touted the drug at a press conference, asking, “What do you have to lose?”
“Yeah, what have you got to lose? I mean, look, you don’t want to be making medical decisions, whether you’re the president or anybody else, with the line what have you got to lose. I mean, that’s just scary,” Cuban said, adding, “What have you got to lose is not the way to run a country.”
Anderson Cooper 360 airs weeknights at 8 p.m. on CNN.
Erin Burnett OutFront airs weeknights at 7 p.m. on CNN.
Your World With Neil Cavuto airs weekdays at 4 p.m. on Fox News Channel.
The Story With Martha MacCallum airs weeknights at 7 p.m. on Fox News Channel.
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