Hollywood celebrities couldn’t resist freaking out after President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement Monday that he is taking hydroxychloroquine with zinc. The commander in chief said that he has been taking the anti-malaria drug for more than a week under his physician’s care and so far feels fine.
Hydroxychloroquine became a media football when President Trump discussed the drug as a possible treatment for coronavirus as early as March during his then-daily press briefings. Some outlets falsely claimed that the president stands to benefit financially from hydroxychloroquine, alleging that he owns a stake in the pharmaceutical giant Sanofi that makes the drug.
But as Breitbart News
reported, Trump’s financial disclosures show that his three family trusts each had investments in a $10.3 billion mutual fund that owns shares in Sanofi. His “financial interest” in Sanofi could be as much as $1,485 and as low as $99.10.
Even the left-wing Snopes has debunked claims that the president owns a financial stake in the drugmaker. But that didn’t stop financially illiterate Hollywood stars from resurrecting the hoary claim on Tuesday to smear the president.
Barbra Streisand led the social media charge, implying that President Trump is taking the drug for financial gain.