President Donald Trump’s press secretary Kayleigh McEnany blasted negative coverage of the president’s claims about hydroxychloroquine, including comments from Jimmy Kimmel, who is the host of a late-night comedy show.
McEnany had been defending hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug that Trump has repeatedly touted as a treatment for coronavirus, in response to a reporter’s question at Wednesday’s White House press briefing. On Monday, Trump claimed he had been taking the drug as a preventative measure.
“I’ve seen a lot of apoplectic coverage of hydroxychloroquine,” McEnany said during a White House press briefing before calling out the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” comedian, along with MSNBC “Morning Joe” anchor Joe Scarborough, Fox News’ Neil Cavuto and CNN’s Chris Cuomo over their criticisms of Trump this week.
“You had Jimmy Kimmel saying the president’s ‘trying to kill himself’ by taking it. You had Joe Scarborough saying, ‘This will kill you.’ Neil Cavuto saying, ‘What have you got to lose? One thing you have to lose are lives.’”
Not only have numerous leading medical professionals voiced concerns that taking the drug when it’s not proven effective against COVID-19 could result in death, but the Food and Drug Administration also warned against its use in coronavirus cases outside of hospitals and clinical trials, citing serious heart risks among other concerns.
Kimmel, along with late-night comics Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah, slammed the president’s hydroxychloroquine usage on their shows this week. Earlier this month, Trump labeled Kimmel a “wacko ‘last placer’” in an angry tweet attacking several late-show hosts.
Watch the clip from the White House briefing above.
Kimmel later played the video during his show, joking that apparently his “message resonated” as he’d received “a scolding today from White House press secretary No. 4.”
“Thank you for watching, Kayleigh, it’s always nice to welcome a new fan,” Kimmel said.
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