Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro defends qualifications for handing out medical advice: 'I'm a social scientist'

You can call him Dr. Peter Navarro, at least technically.

Navarro, President Trump's top trade adviser, doesn't have a medical degree. But he does have a Ph.D in economics, he explained in a Monday morning CNN appearance, and claimed that leaves him qualified to disagree with the U.S.'s top coronavirus doctor Anthony Fauci when it comes to a potentially dangerous COVID-19 treatment.

While Trump has repeatedly claimed that the malaria-fighting drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are a "game changer" in the coronavirus fight, Fauci recently pointed out there are not enough studies and information to declare them safe treatments. Navarro defended Trump's side of things on Monday, saying "doctors disagree on things all the time," and because he's a "social scientist" who "understand[s] how to read statistical studies," he's qualified to disagree with Fauci. CNN host John Berman butted in to say "that doesn't qualify you to treat patients" and noted the potential "deadly" effects of untested hydroxychloroquine use, but Navarro only pushed on.

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A study to determine the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine just kicked off in New York last week. But so far, it's clear hydroxychloroquine can have detrimental effects on the health of some patients, including sometimes leading to cardiac arrest and psychiatric symptoms.