Trump rips Pelosi as ‘a sick woman’ over obesity jab, claims unproven coronavirus drug gives him ‘safety’

President Trump speaks after a lunch meeting with Republican senators on Tuesday.(Evan Vucci/AP)

President Trump bashed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday as “a sick woman” with “mental health problems” after she suggested he should think twice about taking hydroxychloroquine since he’s “morbidly obese" and could suffer serious side effects from the unproven coronavirus drug.

Emerging from a closed-door lunch with Republican senators on Capitol Hill, Trump at first said he didn’t want to punch back at Pelosi over the obesity jab because “she is a waste of time.”

But Pelosi was clearly on Trump’s mind, as he later brought her up unprompted while railing against congressional Democrats for investigating his 2016 campaign’s ties to Russia.

“These people are sick. Pelosi is a sick woman,” Trump told reporters. “She’s got a lot of problems, a lot of mental problems. They have to get their act together for the good of the country, okay?”

A spokesman for Pelosi did not return a request for comment.

Pelosi (D-Calif.) went on CNN Monday night and said she was concerned by the president’s revelation earlier in the day that he’s been popping hydroxychloroquine pills preventatively for coronavirus for nearly two weeks, even though his own medical experts say the drug can cause deadly side effects and hasn’t been proven to cure COVID-19.

“He’s our president and I would rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists, especially in his age group and in his, shall we say, weight group — morbidly obese, they say,” Pelosi said.

According to Trump’s latest physical exam, his mass body index is 30.4, making him clinically obese. Obesity is one of many preexisting conditions that can exacerbate COVID-19 symptoms.

Still, Trump insisted Tuesday that hydroxychloroquine, which is most commonly used to treat malaria, gives him extra “safety.”

“It has been out on the market — malaria, lupus and other things. I think it gives you an additional level of safety,” Trump said.

The president added, “It doesn’t hurt people.”

Trump’s own government experts disagree.

The Food and Drug Administration released guidance on April 24 saying doctors should not prescribe hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 because the drug can cause “abnormal” and “dangerous” heart rhythms, especially in people who are above 70 or have preexisting heart conditions.

Trump is 73 and has elevated cholesterol levels, which can increase the risk of heart attacks, according to his 2019 physical.

Trump’s own Veterans Health Administration had an even more alarming finding, saying in a recent study that hydroxychloroquine can increase the mortality rate of COVID-19 in patients older than 70.

But Trump baselessly claimed the veterans study was politically motivated.

“They were giving it to people in very bad shape. They were very old, almost dead — it was a Trump enemy statement,” the president said.

He also reiterated his claim that “a lot of our front-line workers” take the drug, though it’s unclear where he’s gotten that idea from.

Earlier in the day, Trump’s White House aides scrambled to clarify that people shouldn’t blindly follow the president’s medical advice.

“Any use of hydroxychloroquine has to be in consultation with your doctor. You have to have a prescription. That’s the way it must be done," White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said.

Questions swirled as to whether Trump had truly started taking hydroxychloroquine after his personal physician released a quizzical letter late Monday that didn’t say he’s using the drug and only affirmed that they had discussed its “benefits” and “risks.”

McEnany sought to set the record straight, saying she "can absolutely confirm” Trump’s on the drug.  

Taking his comments at face value, Trump started popping hydroxychloroquine pills around the same time it was revealed that two White House aides — the president’s personal valet and Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary — had tested positive for COVID-19.

Trump says he’s tested for the virus regularly and has so far had all his results come back negative.