Nancy Pelosi didn’t know Trump would be so sensitive about being called ‘morbidly obese’

House speaker says President Trump was making ‘distractions’ with comments on unproven drug

Nancy Pelosi has said that she “had no idea” Donald Trump would react angrily to being described as “morbidly obese”.

Mr Trump called the Democrat a “sick woman” on Wednesday after she derided his decision to consume hydroxychloroquine drug to prevent Covid-19, despite there being no proof as to the efficacy of the drug in treating coronavirus.

In comments made to CCN, Ms Pelosi said she was worried about the US president’s weight and that it meant taking the drug was “not a good idea”.

“I didn’t know that he would be so sensitive,” Ms Pelosi told MSNBC on Wednesday. “He’s always talking about other people’s weight.”

That came hours after Mr Trump told reporters: “Pelosi is a sick woman. She’s got a lot of problems, a lot of mental problems.”

“We’re dealing with people that have to get their act together for the good of the country,” added the president, who defended his decision to use the drug.

The House speaker added that Mr Trump’s latest announcement on hydroxychloroquine was mere “distraction” from the US death toll passing 90,000 this week.

She continued: “I think he should recognise his words weigh a tonne. Instead of telling people to put Lysol into their lungs or taking a medication that’s not been approved except under certain circumstances”.

The president insisted that hydroxychloroquine critics concentrated on one “bad study”, despite widespread scientific advice against its use in Covid-19 cases.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not permitted the drug’s use beyond hospital or research settings due to suspected dangers, but Mr Trump maintains it was safe for him to do so.

Still, studies have shown that there was an increased danger amongst elderly people who took the drug.

Mr Trump, who is 73-years-old, was classified as “obese” during his last health check-up in 2019.