Fresh off his coronavirus diagnosis, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) boasted to Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday night that he is “all in” on taking controversial anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine and thanked the pro-Trump star for his promotion of the unproven drug.
The ultra-conservative firebrand left his fellow lawmakers “pissed” over news that he contracted COVID-19, especially since the Texas congressman has largely refused to wear a mask on Capitol Hill and pushed his coronavirus denialism on aides. Politico, for instance, reported on Wednesday that one staffer claims Gohmert demanded a “full staff” in the office and people were “berated for wearing masks.”
Gohmert, who earlier in the day suggested his recent mask-wearing may have gotten him sick, grumbled to Hannity about the amount of criticism he’s received in the wake of his diagnosis.
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“I got a tiny little taste of what you and the president get every day. The left went nuts,” the Texas Republican exclaimed, adding: “So a little bit a taste of what the president gets all the time. But nobody gets more than the president. You’ve been a good friend, Sean, thank you.”
Hannity, meanwhile, wondered aloud whether Gohmert had consulted with his doctor about hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus treatment, hyping a disputed and flawed study about the drug’s efficacy. Recent studies and clinical trials, however, have shown hydroxychloroquine has little to no benefit as a preventative or treatment. Citing concerns over potentially deadly side effects, the FDA revoked emergency use of the drug to treat the virus in June.
“Yes, I have, and thank you for all the discussion you’ve had about it,” Gohmert replied. “You have talked about the one study that said it had to be withdrawn. So yeah, my doctor and I are all in.”
“I got a text before I came on from a dear friend doctor who just found out he had it. And he started the regimen too,” he continued. “Zinc, azithromycin, and hydroxychloroquine. And that will start just in a day or two. So thank you!”
Trump world, including several Fox News hosts, have suddenly jumped back onto the hydroxychloroquine bandwagon after a group of fringe doctors—including Dr. Stella Immanuel, who’s expressed concern about alien DNA in medicine and demon sperm—declared the unproven drug a “cure” for COVID-19. Prior to social media platforms taking it down for peddling coronavirus disinformation, a viral video of the group’s “summit” racked up tens of millions of views in a matter of hours.
Undeterred by Immanuel’s bizarre claims and past history, the president has continued to endorse her and the group, calling Immanuel “very impressive” and “spectacular” while repeatedly claiming she’s had “tremendous success” with hydroxychloroquine.
