Trump and the off-label drugs as a treatment for covid-19 is an easy "win" for him

[andym]

If science shows the drugs work subsequently he will tout his heroic leadership in "curing" the pandemic. If they fail, then he will say he never touted the drugs at all. This is his M.O. and this kind of politicking seems to work for him. So, the correct response is to state that the French/Chinese/Italian clinical trials will hopefully prove the drugs are useful and to state they are doing the heavy lifting, thereby removing potential credit from him.

[Hoyt]

1. He definitely could have handled it better. But I don't think this is anywhere

near the worst thing he’s done. Offering a little hope is not bad, it just doesn’t go over well from this lout.

[andym]

3. It's both a smart thing politically and these drugs indeed may be useful

after the recent reports in the scientific literature. In the actual medical community these drugs were going to be tried independently of anything Trump says, because there is sufficient reason to think they could work.

[33taw]

2. Putin probably has Dione the tests.