This is awful and Trump& #39;s default is awful.

But I gotta be base rate guy here: How many comparable pharmaceutical companies would these statements *NOT* apply to? https://twitter.com/OrinKerr/status/1247360582606450689">https://twitter.com/OrinKerr/...

Of course the fact that the whole pharmaceutical industry is one giant corrupt orgy is not good.

But if you could write this article for any of a number of different possible treatments, then none of this is explaining "why chloroquine?"

At 41:00 of Sam Harris& #39;s 3/11 podcast with Dr. Amesh Adalja of Johns Hopkins:

AA: There& #39;s actually a malaria drug...that happens to have activity against this virus...

SH: Is that chloroquine?

AA: Chloroquine, yes...it seems to exhibit an anti-viral effect against the virus.

Because the chloroquine issue got so politicized, everyone decided it& #39;s the equivalent of Trump promoting some magic elixir like something Alex Jones would sell on his website.

It& #39;s not. It& #39;s one of the leading *potential* treatments, and has been before Trump heard of it.

Trump is way out over his skis as usual in touting chloroquine& #39;s efficacy before the proper testing has been completed. From that same podcast, Dr. Adalja talks about how it hasn& #39;t been tested on humans. But it& #39;s not a random shot in the dark based solely on financial ties.

I can& #39;t evaluate the likelihood, but it& #39;s clearly plausible that chloroquine proves to be an effective treatment for at least some people with COVID-19, and if that happens, Trump will be in the best position to spin a narrative that he was somehow ahead of this than ever before.