President Donald Trump claimed it was a blessing he had contracted COVID-19 because it allowed him to find a cure, in a video message posted on Twitter Wednesday.
He first claimed that his four-day stay at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for COVID-19 treatment was unnecessary.
“Hi perhaps you recognize me, it’s your favorite president and I’m standing in front of the Oval Office at the White House, which is always an exciting place to be” Trump began. “I got back a day ago from Walter Reed Medical Center. I spent four days and didn’t have to. I could’ve stayed at the White House, but the doctors said because you’re president let’s do it.”
After thanking first responders and medical professionals, Trump admitted he went in not “feeling so hot” so the doctors gave him Regeneron, which made him feel “unbelievable.”
Regeneron is the name of the company manufacturing experimental antibody treatments.
He told viewers he planned to authorize the drug for treatment, a determination that would have to be made by the Food and Drug Administration, not the president.
“You’re gonna get [the Regeneron antibody treatment] free,” he said. “It’s a cure. I walked in, I didn’t feel good, but a short 24 hours later I was feeling great. I walked out of the hospital. That’s what I want for everybody. I want everybody to be given the same treatment as your president because I feel great. I feel perfect. I think it was a blessing from God that I caught it. This was a blessing in disguise.”
While antibody treatments have shown promise, Trump has notoriously promoted several, fake “miracle cures” — so much so that it’s the single, largest driver of COVID-19 misinformation, according to a Cornell study.
Since Trump’s announcement, Regeneron has requested emergency use authorization from the FDA, causing its stock to jump.
