Hollywood celebrities couldn’t resist freaking out after President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement Monday that he is taking hydroxychloroquine with zinc. The commander in chief said that he has been taking the anti-malaria drug for more than a week under his physician’s care and so far feels fine.
Hydroxychloroquine became a media football when President Trump discussed the drug as a possible treatment for coronavirus as early as March during his then-daily press briefings. Some outlets falsely claimed that the president stands to benefit financially from hydroxychloroquine, alleging that he owns a stake in the pharmaceutical giant Sanofi that makes the drug.
But as Breitbart News reported, Trump’s financial disclosures show that his three family trusts each had investments in a $10.3 billion mutual fund that owns shares in Sanofi. His “financial interest” in Sanofi could be as much as $1,485 and as low as $99.10.
Even the left-wing Snopes has debunked claims that the president owns a financial stake in the drugmaker. But that didn’t stop financially illiterate Hollywood stars from resurrecting the hoary claim on Tuesday to smear the president.
Barbra Streisand led the social media charge, implying that President Trump is taking the drug for financial gain.
Trump says he’s now taking hydroxychloroquine. He might be lying but could it be because he has a small stake in the company Sanofi who owns it? That’s according to Forbes this past April…
— Barbra Streisand (@BarbraStreisand) May 18, 2020
Mia Farrow also implied that the president has ulterior motives for mentioning hydroxychloroquine. Actor Adam Goldberg echoed the sentiment, wrongly claiming that Trump is an “investor.”
He's an investor.
— Wear a Fucking Mask or Stay Home (@TheAdamGoldberg) May 18, 2020
Bette Midler tweeted that the drug has been shown to be “completely ineffective” to combat COVID-19, despite medical evidence showing that some patients have recovered quickly after taking the drug.
The president says he’s taking hydroxychloroquine to protect himself from Covid-19, even though it’s been shown to be completely ineffective. Side effects are paranoia, hallucinations & psychosis. I guess he’s been taking it for YEARS!
— bettemidler (@BetteMidler) May 19, 2020
Rob Reiner called the president a “fucking moron” for taking hydroxycholorquine, while actor Christopher Meloni called him a “gateway to stupid.”
Dr. Trump’s prescription for fighting Covid-19: Daily dose of hydroxychloroquine washed down with a cup of bleach. He’s not only a fucking moron, he’s a deadly one.
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) May 19, 2020
Don’t like this…it’s a gateway stupid to even more stupid
Trump admits he’s taking hydroxychloroquine | Raw Story https://t.co/k7zoXgzq6t
— Chris Meloni (@Chris_Meloni) May 19, 2020
Similarly, comedian Chelsea Handler called President Trump “stupid” for taking the drug when he doesn’t have the virus, even though the president seemed to suggest that it is a preventative measure. The former Netflix talk show host also appeared to wish physical harm to the president by encouraging him to “swallow a bottle” of Clorox.
Trump taking hydroxychloroquine when he doesn’t have covid is so stupid. A better idea would be for him to swallow a bottle of the Clorox he recommended. Can we do that???
— Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) May 19, 2020
The Hangover and Community star Ken Jeong, who’s also an internal medicine physician (and whose wife is a family physician) joked that the president was taking the drug rectally.
“Mr. President, you’re not supposed to take it rectally.” pic.twitter.com/vjtlrxI80l
— Ken Jeong (@kenjeong) May 19, 2020
Actors Jeffrey Wright, Michael Rapaport, and George Takei resurrected another false story — that President Trump told people to take bleach to kill the coronavirus.
But no mainlining Clorox yet, I'm gonna guess. https://t.co/bAr6UKrM2p
— Jeffrey Wright (@jfreewright) May 18, 2020
This Dumb Fkc might turn around and say he was being sarcastic about being on #Hydroxychloroquine #sarcastic
Everything is on the table at this point with this Dumb Fkc pic.twitter.com/xa8QikxBWx— MichaelRapaport (@MichaelRapaport) May 18, 2020
Well, if he’s really taking hydroxychloroquine, maybe he’ll inject bleach next. Who knows with this guy.
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) May 18, 2020
The West Wing actor Josh Malina called the president a “rat” for taking the drug.
Hydroxychloroquine is an antimalaria drug that has not been proven to prevent COVID-19. But apparently clinical trials are being conducted on a single rat.
— (((Josh Malina))) (@JoshMalina) May 18, 2020
Actor Ethan Embry said that “there’s no way a physician would give someone as unhealthy as [Trump] Hydroxychloroquine.”
Remember that time last year Trump was rushed to Walter Reed unannounced with his shirt unbuttoned and we never were told what happened? There’s no way a physician would give someone as unhealthy as him Hydroxychloroquine.
— Ethan Embry (@EmbryEthan) May 19, 2020
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com
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