Biden on Trump to taking hydroxychloroquine ‘What in God’s name is he doing?’

Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, blasted President Trump on Wednesday for taking hydroxychloroquine in an effort to prevent contracting the coronavirus despite limited evidence of effectiveness from the medical community.

“It’s like saying ‘Maybe if you inject Clorox into your blood, it may cure you,’” Biden said at a Yahoo News town hall on COVID-19 and food insecurity with celebrity chef José Andrés. “C’mon, man! What is he doing? What in God’s name is he doing?”

The former vice president said Trump’s actions are “absolutely irresponsible.”

“There’s no serious medical person out there saying to use that drug,” Biden said. “It’s counterproductive. It’s not going to help, but the president, he decided that’s an answer.”

Biden added that he believes Trump is setting a bad example, especially since medical experts have warned that the anti-malaria drug should not be taken outside a hospital or clinical trial because of the risk of severe heart problems.

“Look at the studies that have been done. It does much more harm than good. This is totally irresponsible,” Biden said.

Trump on Monday revealed that he’s been taking hydroxychloroquine to ward off the coronavirus.

The White House released a memo later Monday evening from the president’s physician saying the two discussed the use of hydroxychloroquine and determined “the potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks.”

The drug, however, has showed no benefit for COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Veterans Health Administration medical centers. 

A study, released last month, also found the two primary outcomes for COVID-19 patients treated with hydroxychloroquine were death and the need for mechanical ventilation. 

Trump’s disclosure about taking the unproven coronavirus treatment has been met with fierce criticism.

“I would rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists, especially in his age group and in his, shall we say, weight group, morbidly obese, they say,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said. 

Fox News Channel’s senior managing editor for health news, Dr. Manny Alvarez, also said Trump is acting in a “highly irresponsible” manner.

GOP Rep. Roger Marshall (Kan.), however, said he was “relieved” to hear Trump is taking hydroxychloroquine as a preventative measure and that his entire family has been taking the drug “prophylactically.”

“I would encourage any person over the age of 65 or with an underlying medical condition to talk to their own physician about taking hydroxychloroquine and I’m relieved President Trump is taking it,” Marshall, an obstetrician, said.