Trump, hydrocychloroquine, placebos, and hope

The #FakeNews media and the Democrats are attacking Trump because he's touting the possible efficacy of a drug used to treat malaria, hydrocychloroquine, as a way to cure/prevent coronavirus.

This despite several studies, albeit with limited number of patients, that show that the drug does work.

Of course if Obama or Hillary were President the same reporters would be commending them for giving Americans hope.

Let's look at the impacts if Trump is right and if he's wrong.

If he's wrong there is no damage. Doctors and the medical community in general have no other viable alternative at the moment so using the drug won't prevent a more efficacious treatment being applied.

As the medical community finds other treatments, which it is doing, those will be used as necessary so once again no harm done.

Trump is clearly also pushing America to produce any and all treatments that could help so it's not like he's saying "we've got the cure so stop wasting research dollars on other options".

Another thing to note is that studies have shown that placebos, ie sugar pills that patients think are real drugs, can often be as much as 40% as effective as real medicines. We're a long way from understanding the role of our minds in dealing with disease but it's accepted in the medical community that patients who think they're receiving drugs that will help them often show improvement even when they're not getting any medicine.

Hence Trump's claims, even if eventually proven wrong, will probably help people who get the drug recover.

Meanwhile the #FakeNews media is working hard to ensure that every coronavirus patient is facing death and thereby helping reduce their chances of living by taking away their hope.

Finally even if he's wrong Americans need hope.  They need to believe that there is a light at the end of the tunnel even if the tunnel is long.  Otherwise we'll be facing deaths due to suicides and people saying "why bother" and ignoring social distancing and stay in place rules.

FDR and JFK in times of crisis did all they could to keep Americans hopeful; all great leaders do.

Yet Trump is being attacked for not simply spewing doom and gloom.

On the other hand if Trump is right, and odds are he is in this case as more and more data shows the efficacy of the drug, then he's overriding the #FakeNews medias censorship of the truth in order to give Americans real hope.

Further he's using his power to ensure that the drug gets out there to the people who need it.