In response to the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in America and across the globe, President Donald Trump stockpiled 29 million pills of a drug called "hydroxychloroquine," a drug that is most commonly used to treat malaria.

Rolling Stone reported that Trump said of the drug that

"It's not going to hurt people," he said, adding that the government had stockpiled 29 million pills to fight the virus. "It can help them, but it's not going to hurt them. That's the beauty of it. You see?"

However, according to AP News, in a study of hydroxychloroquine use in VA hospitals across America, the medical records of 368 male veterans with confirmed infections were analyzed and "... about 28 percent who were given hydroxychloroquine plus usual care died, versus 11 percent of those getting routine care alone."

These stats call into question Trump's belief that the drug would not harm people — more people died when taking the drug than when only routine care was implemented. Not only did Trump claim the drug would be safe despite it being developed for something completely different than coronavirus, he bought millions of pills, which indicates a willingness to give this drug en masse to the American public.

The Trump administration has denied science as well as facts in many key spaces — like climate science — and now the coronavirus science have been neglected in favor of oil, fracking, and reopening the economy.

And, as AP reporter Marilynn Marchione writes,

Many doctors have been leery of the drug.

At the University of Wisconsin, Madison, "I think we're all rather underwhelmed" at what's been seen among the few patients there who've tried it, said Dr. Nasia Safdar, medical director of infection control and prevention.

While many Americans have come to expect this of Trump and his administration, it doesn't change that his blind belief in his own beliefs often curves situations towards negative outcomes. When a more thoughtful and less reactive approach to situations would give him enough space to make decisions that can yield more positive outcomes.