White House releases doctor's note on Trump's purported use of hydroxychloroquine


President Trump's announcement Monday that he has been taking hydroxycholorquine as a prophylactic to ward off the COVID-19 coronavirus had its skeptics, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). "Maybe he's really not taking it because the president lies about things characteristically," Schumer told MSNBC. So the White House released a letter from White House physician Dr. Sean Conley.
Trump "is in very good health" and has tested negative for COVID-19 in his regular testing, Conley wrote. "After numerous discussions he and I had for and against the use of hydroxychloroquine, we concluded the potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks." The letter did not actually say Conley had prescribed hydroxychlorquine to Trump or that Trump was taking it, but White House spokeswoman Alyssa Farah said Trump is taking the malaria drug.
Hydroxychloroquine has well-documented risks, including causing dangerous heart arrhythmia even in healthy people, and multiple studies have shown it has no apparent benefit for COVID-19 patients. The FDA granted emergency authorization to use hydroxycholorquine to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients before later issuing a safely advisory on April 24 warning of serious side effects and recommending its use only under close supervision of a doctor in a hospital or clinical trial.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) expressed concern about Trump's risk-taking on CNN. "He's our president, and I would rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists, especially in his age group and his, shall we say, weight group — morbidly obese, they say," she told Anderson Cooper. (Trump, 73, is technically obese but not severely or morbidly so, The Associated Press notes.)
New York's Olivia Nuzzi had a more practical critique.
"Here's my evidence: I get a lot of positive calls about it," Trump told reporters. "The only negative I've heard was the study where they gave it — was it the VA with, you know, people that aren't big Trump fans gave it."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
What does 'conquering' Gaza mean to Israel?
Today's Big Question Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet has approved a plan to displace much of the Palestinian population while seizing and occupying the territory on a long-term basis.
-
Casey Means: the controversial 'wellness influencer' nominated for surgeon general
In the Spotlight Means has drawn controversy for her closeness to RFK Jr.
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal
speed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'
-
Trump is not sure he must follow the Constitution
speed read When asked about due process for migrants in a TV interview, President Trump said he didn't know whether he had to uphold the Fifth Amendment