Morning Joe explains why Trump’s claim about taking hydroxychloroquine is nonsense

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough dismissed President Donald Trump's claims about taking hydroxychloroquine as lies.

The president announced Monday that he was taking the anti-malarial drug to prevent the coronavirus, despite doubts about its effectiveness and concerns about deadly side effects, but the "Morning Joe" host doesn't believe him.

"I'm sorry, but I have got to believe that Donald Trump is lying right now about taking this drug that his own administration said actually can kill you, doesn't give you the positive effects and, in fact, can cause situations, especially in people that are older like and obese like him, and can cause real health damage to those type of people," Scarborough said. "It is bad for Donald Trump, but more to the point, because I don't believe Donald Trump is taking this, it sends a really dangerous message to people who follow him and follow him blindly. It could be -- like, listening to Donald Trump yesterday will be hazardous to Americans' health."

Scarborough said the president's dubious claim was likely intended as a distraction from his failures, which have led to more than 90,000 deaths, and corruption, such as the firing of an inspector general investigating a possibly illegal arms deal with Saudi Arabia.

"You have to believe this White House physician understands that the Trump White House is going to end," Scarborough said. "When it ends, he's got to keep his reputation. He's got to keep his medical license."

The Food and Drug Administration has cautioned against its use outside of a clinical trial, and the Veterans Administration found hydroxychloroquine could kill some patients, and Scarborough doesn't believe a doctor would prescribe it to the president.

"Any doctor prescribing that for political purposes, I've got to say, puts himself or herself in a very difficult position," he said. "So I just don't believe the president is taking something that his own administration says will kill him."