Trump defends hydroxychloroquine in press briefing after Twitter deletes video

President announced Kodak will make items to combat Covid-19 before abruptly leaving briefing

Donald Trump defended his pushing of controversial drugs he says can treat coronavirus, saying “many” doctors and medical workers agree.

“I wasn’t making recommendations,” the president said during a coronavirus briefing about a tweet from a controversial doctor he shared overnight.

“It’s recommendations of many people, including doctors. Many doctors think it’s extremely successful, the hydroxychloroquine, coupled with the Zinc and the perhaps the azithromycin,” Mr Trump said. “Some people don’t.”

He complained that the debate around those drugs has become “political”.

“I took it. I’m here,” he said of hydroxychloroquine. “I think it works in the early stages.”

Medical experts and his own government have said there is no factual or scientific data to back up his claims.

He said unnamed “frontline medical workers ... believe in it”.

“Some. Many,” he said.

The president ended his latest briefing after about a half hour, and only 11 minutes of questions from reporters.

When pressed on that doctor’s beliefs about medical professionals making medications from alien DNA by a CNN reporter with whom he has clashed before, Mr Trump left the briefing as another reporter was trying to ask a question.

He announced he is using the Defence Production Act to compel Kodak to make active generic pharmaceutical ingredients, work he claims will create 360 new jobs in Rochester, New York.

Most of his opening remarks focused on how his administration has worked to ensure anti-Covid items are made here, part of his “American first” philosophy.

Specifically, Mr Trump said the US was increasing domestic production of gloves by 1000 per cent.

“We must never be reliant on a foreign nation for our medical needs”, he said. ”We’ll produce over 100m swabs per month by January.”​