Chinese state media on Tuesday took a dig at President Donald Trump by touting research that suggests Trump probably has diarrhea because he takes hydroxychloroquine as protection from the Wuhan coronavirus.
Perhaps sensing that hydroxychloroquine has become a strangely politicized drug because of Trump’s references to it, the state-run Global Times waded in with Chinese research that ostensibly proves the treatment has all sorts of unpleasant side effects that Trump is probably suffering from. As usual, Chinese media had no trouble finding “netizens” who agreed with their chosen storyline:
Using hydroxychloroquine for mild and moderate coronavirus-infected patients is not encouraged, as patients can show symptoms of digestive diseases, such as diarrhea, sickness and vomiting, Chinese researchers from Shanghai Ruijin Hospital announced on Monday.
Despite being unproven in its effectiveness against coronavirus, Trump said on Monday that he has been taking the drug for over a week to prevent being infected with the coronavirus, which soon started trending on Twitter and Chinese social media Sina Weibo.
Netizens swarmed to social media, expressing their shock over what Trump said, with many people suspecting the president is lying.
“Why is he pushing a drug that can cause hallucinations and heart failure?” Netizens commented on Twitter with the trending hashtag #he’slying.
“It’s time to show Trump’s capability for selling products online!” some Chinese netizens commented on Weibo. “Is it worth promoting the drug at the risk of his life?” said another popular comment by Chinese netizens.
After mentioning the false U.S. media stories that proliferated a few weeks ago claiming that Trump told people to inject themselves with household disinfectants to ward off the coronavirus, the Global Times served up another favorite notion of Trump’s critics, namely that he has some financial interest in pushing hydroxychloroquine:
Trump is only trying to attract attention by frequently promoting products such as the drug in his speeches, and the possibility cannot be ruled out that he has some financial interest in it, which suits his personality of being a businessman, Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times. “It’s a misfortune for Americans, who are already facing a high unemployment rate, economic recession and a severe epidemic, that there is such a president.”
A New York Times report had said Trump has a “small personal financial interest” in the French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi.
Chinese experts said Trump’s remarks reveal his disdain for professionals and expertise, and also prove his administration’s handling of the epidemic was not based on science.
At least the Global Times came up short of embracing the current fad in certain sectors of American media for claiming hydroxychloroquine – a reasonably common prescription for ailments other than the coronavirus, dating back for many years – is deadly poison, rather than unpleasant but often useful medicine. Those pushing that line of attack apparently have not considered that they could put lives at risk by scaring people away from using the hydroxycholoroquine treatment, even when their doctors believe it is necessary.
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