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FactChecking Trump's COVID-19 Press Briefing - FactCheck.org

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President Donald Trump, at a , made a few false and misleading statements about COVID-19:Trump, July 28:HydroxychloroquineTrump also stated that he didn’t know Dr. Anthony Fauci’s position on hydroxychloroquine, the antimalarial drug Trump has volubly supported, without evidence, as a powerful weapon against COVID-19.Trump was at a White House coronavirus task force on March 20 when Fauci, t said there was no evidence that hydroxychloroquine was effective against COVID-19. And at another on April 6, Trump cut off Fauci, a member of the task force, when he was asked about the drug, saying Fauci had answered the question “15 times.”At the July 28 press briefing, there was this exchange:Reporter, July 28: On that note, Mr. President, last night, in tweets that were deleted by Twitter, you said that Dr. Fauci misled the country about hydroxychloroquine. How so?Trump: No, not at all. I think — I don’t even know what his stance is on it.Fauci has long been known as a skeptic on the merits of using hydroxychloroquine against COVID-19. He made that clear at the March 20 briefing attended by Trump.Reporter, March 20: And to Dr. Fauci, if I could. Dr. Fauci — this was explained yesterday — there has been some promise with hydroxychloroquine as potential therapy for people who are infected with coronavirus. Is there any evidence to suggest that, as with malaria, it might be used as a prophylaxis against COVID-19?Fauci: No. The answer is no. And the evidence that you’re talking about, John, is anecdotal evidence. So as the commissioner of FDA and the president mentioned yesterday, we’re trying to strike a balance between making something with a potential of an effect to the American people available, at the same time that we do it under the auspices of a protocol that would give us information to determine if it’s truly safe and truly effective.But the information that you’re referring to specifically is anecdotal; it was not done in a controlled clinical trial. So you really can’t make any definitive statement about it.At that briefing, Fauci also challenged the notion that hydroxychloroquine had proven valuable in treating SARS.Reporter: It was also fairly effective against SARS.Trump: It was a very — it was, as I understand that. Is that a correct statement — it was fairly effective on SARS?Fauci: John, you’ve got to be careful when you say “fairly effective.” It was never done in a clinical trial.At the April 6 briefing, Trump made clear that he had heard more than enough about Fauci’s views on hydroxychloroquine.Reporter, April 6: And would you also weigh in on this issue of hydroxychloroquine? What do you think about this? And what is the — what is the medical evidence?Trump: Do you know how many times you’ve answered that question?Fauci: Yeah —Reporter: But I’d love to hear from the doctor.Trump: Maybe 15. Fifteen times. You don’t have to ask the question.Reporter: He’s — he’s your medical expert, correct?Trump: He’s answered that question 15 times.Fauci reiterated this week that the scientific evidence doesn’t support using hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. In a July 28 interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Fauci , “The overwhelming, prevailing clinical trials that have looked at the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine have indicated that it is not effective in coronavirus disease.”Despite the lack of scientific support, Trump has long touted hydroxychloroquine as a promising option in combating COVID-19, calling it a potential He in May that he himself took the drug as a preventive measure.We have written previously on a number of occasions about Trump’s enthusiasm for the drug and the lack of evidence of its efficacy. (See “ ) Yet Trump’s support for the drug is undiminished.The president again at the July 28 briefing, “I happen to believe in it.”“Many doctors think it is extremely successful — the hydroxychloroquine — coupled with the zinc and perhaps the azithromycin,” Trump said. “But many doctors think it’s extremely good, and some people don’t. Some people — I think it’s become very political.”As we have , on July 27 Trump retweeted a widely shared video featuring a doctor falsely claiming hydroxychloroquine is a “cure” for COVID-19. The video has been by Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. This was one of a of retweets by Trump of tweets supporting the drug.Numerous studies have cast serious doubt on its effectiveness when it comes to treating COVID-19.“There are no data from randomized clinical trials that demonstrate effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine for COVID,” Dr. Neil Schluger, chairman of the department of medicine at New York Medical College School of Medicine, in a phone interview. Schluger has studied hydroxychloroquine in relation to COVID-19. “There are now several randomized clinical trials that show that it had no effect.”“The vast majority of expert opinions … is that hydroxychloroquine has no benefit in COVID illness,” he added.As we have , thAmid growing evidence the drug is not effective, the FDAFauci has long made clear his doubts about the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine, and Trump has heard him.Correction, Aug. 11: We initially miscalculated the number of counties that did not have any coronavirus cases in the past week.Editor’s note: FactCheck.org does not accept advertising. We rely on grants and individual donations from people like you. Please consider a donation. Credit card donations may be made through our “” page. If you prefer to give by check, send to: FactCheck.org, Annenberg Public Policy Center, 202 S. 36th St., Philadelphia, PA 19104.Ask SciCheckQ. Are vaccinated and boosted people more susceptible to infection or disease with the omicron variant than unvaccinated people?A. No. Getting vaccinated increases your protection against COVID-19. Sometimes, certain raw data can suggest otherwise, but that information cannot be used to determine how well a vaccine works.Have a question?

President Donald Trump, at a , made a few false and misleading statements about COVID-19:Trump, July 28:HydroxychloroquineTrump also stated that he didn’t know Dr. Anthony Fauci’s position on hydroxychloroquine, the antimalarial drug Trump has volubly supported, without evidence, as a powerful weapon against COVID-19.Trump was at a White House coronavirus task force on March 20 when Fauci, t said there was no evidence that hydroxychloroquine was effective against COVID-19. And at another on April 6, Trump cut off Fauci, a member of the task force, when he was asked about the drug, saying...

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Jessica McDonald

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