Mike Pence struggles after reporter presses him about Trump's coronavirus drug promises

After President Donald Trump exited Saturday's press briefing on coronavirus, a reporter asked Vice President Mike Pence to justify the president's claims that two drugs were possible treatments for coronavirus — something the FDA made very clear to the public that they had not been confirmed for in any capacity yet.

Put on the spot, the vice president paused for several seconds, then appeared to stumble over his words, awkwardly trying to thread the needle between what Trump had said and the medical facts.

"I think the president reiterated the hopefulness that he feels about this, that because these are medications that are time-honored and tested, they've been taken for many, many years, that we want to pursue, number one, making those available if someone's doctor believes that it's appropriate," said Pence. "The doctor would be able to prescribe that medicine, even though that's not indicated. That's called an off-label use."

"But the other piece is, as Dr. Fauci said, and I'll yield to him, in deploying those medicines, we're working specifically with one state to do so in a way that represents a clinical trial," said Pence. "So it would not just be compassionate use, which the medicines are already being used for in some jurisdictions today, but also we could study it and determine the viability of it," added Pence. "And in fact, we're working diligently right now with that supply chain to make sure that those medicines are available."

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