4 ms·

President talks about the preliminary reports that HCQ is working for treating COVID-19 around the world. It might be a good treatment here. People freak out.

President talks about the preliminary reports that HCQ is working for treating COVID-19 around the world. It might be a good treatment here. People freak out. "Preliminary doesn't mean proven!" Man self-medicates with HCQ and dies. President's fault??

rbanffy 7y ago
President shouldn't talk about things he clearly doesn't understand. Compare this to how Obama used to measure every single word he said.
- refurb 7y ago
  All presidents talk about stuff they don't understand.
  - robotresearcher 7y ago
    Like this? “I like this stuff. I really get it. [...] People are really surprised I understand this stuff. Every one of these doctors said, ‘How do you know so much about this?’ Maybe I have a natural ability.” “Anybody who wants a test will get a test, that’s the bottom line. [...] The tests are all perfect, like the letter was perfect, the transcription was perfect, right? This was not as perfect as that, but pretty good.”
  - otterley 7y ago
    Perhaps so, but some things are more important to delegate to experts than others. There's little harm in misstating the speed of light; another to suggest that a potentially hazardous drug that can be found OTC can be used to cure a virus when it cannot - and especially without dosage information.
otterley 7y ago
Yes, I think so. People grew up to trust institutions, and for decades they had good reason to (at least in the subjects of public health and safety). Who's to blame when after decades -- no, centuries -- we elect a leader who makes false claims that are counter to medical science -- and potentially hazardous, if followed, to the public health? The victim, or the authority? I know which party I blame.
- cheese4242 7y ago
  The man who died drank aquarium cleaner. It is a huge stretch to blame that on Trump.
  - brewdad 7y ago
    He drank aquarium cleaner because the President of the United States told him it would cure the virus. Not a stretch at all.
    - cheese4242 7y ago
      Trump told people to take it without a prescription?
  - ComputerGuru 7y ago
    He didn’t. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22670152 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22670152
    - cheese4242 7y ago
      Actually, he did: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/man-dies-wife-in-critical-condition-after-ingesting-chloroquine-phosphate-hoping-to-stave-off-coronavirus-2020-03-23?mod=mw_latestnews https://www.marketwatch.com/story/man-dies-wife-in-critical-...

rbanffy 7y ago

President shouldn't talk about things he clearly doesn't understand. Compare this to how Obama used to measure every single word he said.

refurb 7y ago
All presidents talk about stuff they don't understand.
- robotresearcher 7y ago
  Like this? “I like this stuff. I really get it. [...] People are really surprised I understand this stuff. Every one of these doctors said, ‘How do you know so much about this?’ Maybe I have a natural ability.” “Anybody who wants a test will get a test, that’s the bottom line. [...] The tests are all perfect, like the letter was perfect, the transcription was perfect, right? This was not as perfect as that, but pretty good.”
- otterley 7y ago
  Perhaps so, but some things are more important to delegate to experts than others. There's little harm in misstating the speed of light; another to suggest that a potentially hazardous drug that can be found OTC can be used to cure a virus when it cannot - and especially without dosage information.

otterley 7y ago

Yes, I think so. People grew up to trust institutions, and for decades they had good reason to (at least in the subjects of public health and safety). Who's to blame when after decades -- no, centuries -- we elect a leader who makes false claims that are counter to medical science -- and potentially hazardous, if followed, to the public health? The victim, or the authority? I know which party I blame.

cheese4242 7y ago
The man who died drank aquarium cleaner. It is a huge stretch to blame that on Trump.
- brewdad 7y ago
  He drank aquarium cleaner because the President of the United States told him it would cure the virus. Not a stretch at all.
  - cheese4242 7y ago
    Trump told people to take it without a prescription?
- ComputerGuru 7y ago
  He didn’t. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22670152 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22670152
  - cheese4242 7y ago
    Actually, he did: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/man-dies-wife-in-critical-condition-after-ingesting-chloroquine-phosphate-hoping-to-stave-off-coronavirus-2020-03-23?mod=mw_latestnews https://www.marketwatch.com/story/man-dies-wife-in-critical-...