The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 3.24 NEW Taylor Swift LEAK Backlash, Hydroxychloroquine Truth, & Trump's Easter Coronavirus Plan

Starting point is 00:00:00 Is it me or did we go from... We'll go away, just stay calm. I am officially declaring a national emergency. We can't have the cure be worse than the problem. Really, really quick. And it feels like yesterday there was a dramatic coordinated shift in the messaging around this. For example, I was watching Fox News last night because I like to take in all sources, and I saw Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick of Texas say this.

Starting point is 00:00:21 And you know, Tucker, no one reached out to me and said, as a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren? And if that's the exchange, I'm all in. And that doesn't make me noble or brave or anything like that. I just think there are lots of grandparents out there in this country like me, I have six grandchildren, that what we all care about and what we love more than anything are those children. Okay, first things first, Dan, don't do that thing where you say, this doesn't make me noble or brave or a hero. That's

Starting point is 00:00:59 what you do when you want to be associated with words like that while acting like, oh, you know, it's not about that. I'm above labels like that. That's like if in this video, I was like, you know, me doing this bit in the beginning to point out how crazy things have gotten, it doesn't make me a hero or a voice of a generation. It doesn't mean that I have a big dick and I know how to throw it down

Starting point is 00:01:16 and people should call me Big Daddy Dick Phil. That's not what this is about. So enough of that nonsense, Dan, but also just the general idea of what you're saying. If you were only risking your own life, great. But the problem is we're living in a moment where people need to act responsibly themselves to protect others.

Starting point is 00:01:30 I'm not worried about Dan dying. I'm worried about my immunocompromised father who's gonna be 60 relatively soon. I'm also worried about others who get hospitalized and die from this, who do not share your kind of thinking. And I'm worried about people that might die from things that are not COVID-19 because our healthcare system is going to be completely overwhelmed and a number of people will not be able to get help

Starting point is 00:01:49 And it's wild to me that this kind of thinking this kind of messaging is being sent out within the same 24 hours where you have The US Surgeon General right Jerome Adams saying I want America to understand this week. It's gonna get bad I think that there are a lot of people who are doing the right things But I think that unfortunately we're finding out a lot of people who are doing the right things, but I think that unfortunately, we're finding out a lot of people think this can't happen to them. And it's why we also had Tom Inglesby, director of the John Hopkins Center for Health Security,

Starting point is 00:02:13 saying on Twitter, "'Anyone advising the end of social distancing now "'needs to fully understand what the country will look like "'if we do that. "'COVID would spread widely, rapidly, terribly, "'could kill potentially millions in the year ahead "'with huge social and economic impact across the country.'" And while you had Scott Gottlieb, former FDA commissioner, rapidly, terribly could kill potentially millions in the year ahead with huge social and economic impact across the country.

Starting point is 00:02:27 And while you had Scott Gottlieb, former FDA commissioner saying, "'There's a strong and understandable desire "'to return to better times in a functioning economy. "'But it should not be lost on anyone "'that there's no such thing as a functioning economy "'in society so long as COVID-19 continues to spread "'uncontrolled in our biggest cities.

Starting point is 00:02:42 "'The only way to return to a stable economy "'and restore our liberty is to end epidemic spread of COVID-19. We need a massive effort to offset the hardship of these efforts and the public health costs they impose, as there are more than economic costs to the measures we're taking. But there's no functioning healthcare

Starting point is 00:02:56 with hospitals overwhelmed, no return to work with people terrified of a virus raging uncontrolled. There are two ways to end this. Let a vast swath of people catch COVID, which is unthinkable, or break the epidemic. We must choose the latter." Right, so you have experts saying things like this,

Starting point is 00:03:10 and then you have Trump during these daily briefings, which, by the way, every time like a Dr. Fauci or someone's not speaking, it has genuinely begun to feel like Trump propaganda hour, during which he even acknowledges that doctors want him to keep it shut down. Don't forget the doctors, if it were up to the doctors, they may say, let's keep it shut down.

Starting point is 00:03:26 Let's shut down the entire world. He's also gone back to minimizing the full potential impact of COVID-19. You know, and again, I say we have a very active flu season, more active than most. It's looking like it's heading to 50,000 or more deaths. You look at automobile accidents, which are far greater than any numbers we're talking about, that doesn't mean we're going to tell everybody no more driving of cars. So we have to do things to get our country open. And a few things there. One, we know the number of cases in this country is artificially low

Starting point is 00:03:57 due to the lack of testing we've seen. And also, two, it seems that this president doesn't understand the rate at which this is accelerating. We've seen it in Italy, and I mean, even just to use the United States thus far. I mean, how recently was this president doesn't understand the rate at which this is accelerating We've seen it in Italy and I mean even just to use the United States thus far I mean how recently was this president minimizing the potential risk talking about it's just 15 cases You know, it'll go down to zero soon and just yesterday in the United States It was reported that over 100 people died from this at a time where you have the governor of New York saying the number of Covid-19 cases is expected to double every three days and here's the thing There is a point in time

Starting point is 00:04:25 where it does make sense to talk about scaling back restrictions. But when we look out there, the countries that are scaling back restrictions right now are doing so because they've reported consistent decreases in numbers. But the United States is reporting increases and the broad consensus among doctors and health experts

Starting point is 00:04:37 is we have not yet hit our peak. But despite that, as I was recording today, we saw Trump go on Fox News and say that he wanted to have the country up and running by the Easter holiday. Right, April 12th, just 19 days away, which most experts say is way too early. And so as far as what's gonna happen next year, we're gonna have to wait and see.

Starting point is 00:04:52 Also, as far as politicians are concerned, it's gonna be interesting to see how many people start echoing this notion that everyone should go back to work. You know, politicians, they say things in the moment, and then later you're like, but you said the exact opposite thing. And so in moments like this,

Starting point is 00:05:04 we look to people like Lindsey Graham. Right before Trump was elected president, he said, you know, if we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed and we will deserve it. But now he's become one of Trump's biggest allies. And recently we saw Lindsey Graham tweet, there is no functioning economy unless we control the virus. Try running an economy with major hospitals overflowing,

Starting point is 00:05:19 doctors and nurses forced to stop treating some because they can't help all, and every moment of gut-wrenching medical chaos being played out in our living rooms on TV, on social media, and shown all around the world. Right, so with legislators like this, do we see a pivot, a, oh, actually, you know what? Now I see the light sort of moment from a Lindsey Graham.

Starting point is 00:05:34 But ultimately, you know, we'll have to wait and see. And wow, I really got ahead of myself. It's Tuesday, welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show. Hit that like button. I'd say, let's just jump into it, but it appears that we already have. Then, of course, as we've been doing every day, let's talk about top level world updates

Starting point is 00:05:47 around the coronavirus. Regarding the numbers internationally, as of 3 p.m. Eastern time worldwide, there were 409,014 cases, 18,246 total deaths. And in the United States, 50,206 confirmed cases, 600 deaths at least. As far as what we're seeing internationally, we saw India's Prime Minister Modi today announce the entire country will be locked down for three weeks, and this beginning at least. As far as what we're seeing internationally, we saw India's Prime Minister Modi today

Starting point is 00:06:05 announce the entire country will be locked down for three weeks, and this beginning at midnight. This coming just a night after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered a nationwide lockdown. We've also seen the International Olympic Committee agree to postpone the Tokyo Summer Olympics until 2021. Egypt is now under a two week curfew between 7pm to 6am.

Starting point is 00:06:22 And then let's talk about chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, which is in the news for a number of reasons. Those drugs, if you don't recall, have been touted by President Trump as a potential treatment for COVID-19. Now this is a common malaria drug. It's also a drug used for strong arthritis and it's been around for a long time and it's very powerful But the nice part is it's been around for a long time so we know that if it if if things don't go as planned it's not going to Kill anybody as a Trump talked about that last week since then there's been a lot of buzz about these drugs a lot of excitement A lot of hope and this continued over the weekend with Trump propping up those drugs writing

Starting point is 00:07:04 Hopefully they will be put in use immediately. People are dying, move fast, and God bless everyone. Then yesterday he's saying. Pleased to report that clinical trials in New York will begin existing for existing drugs that may prove effective against the virus. At my direction, the federal government is working to help obtain large quantities of chloroquine.

Starting point is 00:07:28 And you can look from any standpoint tomorrow in New York. We think tomorrow pretty early the hydroxychloroquine and the Z-Pak, I think is a combination, probably is looking very, very good and it's gonna be distributed. Reportedly, those trials began in New York today. And while yes, I think we all hope that these trials are successful, at the same time, health officials are warning people

Starting point is 00:07:55 not to start jumping in on their own. And that's because while the drugs are approved by the FDA, they're not currently approved to treat COVID-19. Right, because like Trump said, these drugs are designed to treat malaria, rheumatoid arthritis, and also lupus. But there's also a lot of very real and very serious concern around the risks

Starting point is 00:08:09 for COVID-19 patients. Because, according to Megan May, a microbiologist at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, chloroquine is an extremely toxic drug with a terrible side effect profile. Hydrochloroquine is far safer, but its side effects are still significant.

Starting point is 00:08:21 If it is not abundantly clear that it is beneficial, giving this drug to a critically ill patient feels risky. And that's because hydroxychloroquine can still cause things like heart rhythm problems, severely low blood pressure, muscle or nerve damage. But despite all the warnings from medical professionals, we're still seeing people rush to try to get their hands on these drugs.

Starting point is 00:08:37 And because of that, we're seeing stories like this one. Toni Grimes has been taking hydroxychloroquine for 13 years for lupus and said Monday that for the first time her standard 90-day refill order is being delayed until March 30th With Grimes adding that another member of her lupus support group also hasn't received her refill and quote A dentist just tried to call in scripts for hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin for himself his wife and another couple friends I have patients with lupus that have been on Hydroxychloroquine for years and now can't get it because it's on back order and while that last one notably is an example of a doctor

Starting point is 00:09:04 Turning down people who don't need hydroxychloroquine, according to a University of Utah service that tracks shortages, some doctors right now are writing prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine for themselves and family friends to have on hand or hoard just in case. Essentially, this is a new avenue of panic buying.

Starting point is 00:09:18 Also, this problem is so big that four of the seven companies that make generic hydroxychloroquine are facing shortages. And if you're like, well, at least those other three companies haven't, they actually previously stopped making it altogether. But now because of these shortages, we're seeing a couple of noticeable changes. Regarding those self-prescribing doctors

Starting point is 00:09:31 I mentioned a moment ago, the University of Utah said it's refusing to fill their prescription. Also the Ohio Board of Pharmacy has banned hoarding of these drugs. So now there, a person can't get these drugs unless they have lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or have a confirmed case of COVID-19.

Starting point is 00:09:43 Also an issue we've seen pop up are people self-medicating. While it's not in the United States, reportedly we saw three people in Nigeria all overdosing on the drug after self-medicating. So because of that, we saw Nigeria's Center for Disease Control saying, "'Who has not approved the use of chloroquine "'for COVID-19 management?

Starting point is 00:09:56 "'Scientists are working hard to confirm the safety "'of several drugs for this disease. "'Please do not engage in self-medication. "'This will cause harm and can lead to death.'" Also in the United States, you may have seen reports that an Arizona man died after ingesting chloroquine. However, I do want to note that that was not actually the medical form of chloroquine.

Starting point is 00:10:11 Instead, what we ended up seeing was this man and his wife taking chloroquine that was actually supposed to be used to treat parasite infections for fish. So he died, the wife is still alive, but she's in critical condition. And as far as why they did this, why did they take this? In an interview with NBC, she said she and her husband

Starting point is 00:10:24 took it after watching Trump talk about chloroquine with that woman saying, I saw it sitting on the back shelf and thought, hey, isn't that the stuff they're talking about on TV? We were afraid of getting sick. Then I guess did no other research whatsoever and just used it. So there was that, but regarding the potential effectiveness

Starting point is 00:10:40 of these drugs against COVID-19, while that has yet to be proven, we've seen a few studies lead the way in providing that evidence. First off, in lab tests, researchers have reported that hydroxychloroquine does impede the coronavirus' ability to enter cells. However, the big thing to note here

Starting point is 00:10:51 is that doesn't mean that it would do the same thing in a person or that a person could tolerate the doses used in the lab. You also have two major clinical trials that have been capturing people's attention, including President Trump. The first is a report from China last month, which claims chloroquine helped more than 100 patients

Starting point is 00:11:04 attend hospitals. And so because of that, it reportedly saw widespread use both there and in South Korea. However, with this trial these patients all had various degrees of the illness and were all treated with different doses for different amounts of time. And also, very notably, did not contain any control groups, which means that it's possible that these people just recovered on their own without the drug. As far as the second study, it's from a clinical trial in France. There, doctors gave hydroxychloroquine to 26 people who had been infected with coronavirus and of those 26 people six were given an antibiotic called azithromycin However before the study was completed six people dropped out and of those three people wound up in intensive care and one died and to be clear

Starting point is 00:11:34 Here I'm not saying that chloroquine killed them but like that study from China some of these people were asymptomatic Some had symptoms. Right so main point there was a lot of variation between these people But anyway after six days none of the patients who had received both drugs had detectable levels of the virus, meanwhile, over half who had received only hydroxychloroquine had no detectable levels, and only 12.5% of people who had received neither drug had no detectable levels. Right, so that is hopeful, it has laid a lot of the groundwork

Starting point is 00:11:56 for clinical trials here in the United States, but that alone, at this point, is not enough to prove that hydroxychloroquine can be used to treat COVID-19. And according to Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist and head of Scripps Research Transitional Institute in San Diego, it is a very weak study, leaving us in suspension of whether

Starting point is 00:12:10 the combination strategy has any merit. Dr. Anthony Fauci has also called this evidence only anecdotal at the moment. So we're still looking at a situation where everything is not guaranteed and clinical trials here could take several months. And if there is a point that I can end on here, right now scientists are looking into this drug hard.

Starting point is 00:12:23 I'm not covering this story to say that the drugs will not be effective. I want there to be hope, but we also need to be as well informed as possible and realistic in our hope. We just don't know yet. And actually the last thing we're gonna talk about today are celebrities in the news.

Starting point is 00:12:36 It feels a little bit like this is a reversed Philip DeFranco show. But one, part of it is related to the coronavirus pandemic that we're currently experiencing. But also two, if Dr. DeFranco can prescribe something, it's some, ah, a dose of some other news that can take our mind off of the coronavirus situation. So regarding the news that is connected

Starting point is 00:12:53 to our current situation, we saw Conor McGregor in the news. Online today, we saw him make a very passionate plea to the leaders of Ireland to lock down the country. As of recording this video, over a thousand people have tested positive in Ireland. Six people at least have died. Personally, I love seeing Conor McGregor doing this.

Starting point is 00:13:09 Someone using their platform for a change. Because the only thing people in Ireland, especially older people in Ireland, should have to worry about is getting sucker punched by Conor McGregor and not COVID-19. But honestly, good on him for speaking out here. And the other bit of kind of connected, but also disconnected news is Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, and Taylor Swift back in the news together.

Starting point is 00:13:27 Because apparently it is 2016 but worse. So if you don't remember the complete drama of this situation, don't worry. I'm just gonna hit on the highlights really quick. Because this is a situation to certain degrees that has gone on for over a decade. Right in 2009 Taylor Swift wins an MTV VMA, Best Female Video, and while she's accepting the award that Kanye West I'ma Let You Finish moment happens I'm really happy for you. I'ma let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time. That happens, it starts everything off, it's also one of the most viral moments of this time. There's even a hot mic moment where President Obama comments on it. The young lady seems like a perfectly nice person. She's getting her award.

Starting point is 00:14:01 What's he doing out there? Why would he do that? He's a her award. What's he doing? He do that. He's a jackass Things happen, but in 2016 a greatly escalated and Kanye West dropped a song famous referencing the incident and Swift directly by name Then that song he says I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex why I made that bitch famous Right into this moment and song it blew up at that time Not only because it was included but because Kanye said that Taylor Swift approved the song before it was released, Taylor denied this through a publicist, Swift's representative, Shree Payne, telling the New York Times, "'Kanye did not call for approval,

Starting point is 00:14:29 "'but to ask Taylor to release his single, "'Famous, on her Twitter account, "'she declined and cautioned him about releasing a song "'with such a strong misogynistic message.'" And adding, "'Taylor was never made aware "'of the actual lyric, I made that bitch famous.'" Right, so publicly, it was essentially a he said, she said. Then, a few months later, the feud got worse

Starting point is 00:14:44 when Kanye's wife, Kim Kardashian West, released bits of a phone call between the two. And with this, she defended Kanye claiming that Swift actually did okay the song. And that resulted in massive backlash against Swift with many slamming her and accusing her of lying. A moment in time that Taylor Swift would later go on to say made her want to just disappear.

Starting point is 00:14:59 But over the weekend, the full length 25 minute call between Kanye West and Taylor Swift from years ago somehow leaked online. And in the full non-clipped version of and Taylor Swift from years ago, somehow leaked online. And in the full non-clipped version of this video, it appears to back up Swift's claim that she didn't know about the line where she was referred to as a bitch. And in fact, there's one part of the call

Starting point is 00:15:13 where Swift is relieved that he didn't use the word saying, The build up you gave it, I thought it was gonna be like that stupid dumb bitch, like, but it's not. Following the release and leak of this much larger video that appeared to back what Taylor Swift was saying, we saw Kanye West's over party. That's essentially imitating the Taylor Swift is over party that populated 2016 after Kardashian leaked the snippets

Starting point is 00:15:33 of the call. Actually with this, it wasn't until several days later that we saw both Swift and Kardashian speaking out on this. We saw Taylor Swift posting to her Instagram story, acknowledging the leaked footage and how the controversy has negatively impacted her over the years. But then quickly using this opportunity to point attention to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic

Starting point is 00:15:48 that seems to be mentioned in every other headline, writing, instead of answering those who are asking how I feel about the video footage that leaked, proving that I was telling the truth the whole time about that call, you know, the one that was illegally recorded that somebody edited and manipulated in order to frame me and put me, my family, and fans through hell for four years,

Starting point is 00:16:03 swipe up to see what really matters. Upon swiping up, viewers would access a donation page for Feeding America, which is a nonprofit organization devoted to providing food to those in need. With Swift also pushing her followers to donate to the World Health Organization, writing, "'If you have the ability to, "'please join me in donating during this crisis.'"

Starting point is 00:16:17 Following that, we saw several hours later, Kardashian West posting her take on the matter with a much longer message, saying, "'Taylor Swift has chosen to reignite an old exchange "'that at this point in time feels very self-serving given the suffering millions of real victims are facing right now. Going on to say to be clear,

Starting point is 00:16:30 the only issue I ever had around the situation was that Taylor lied through her publicist who stated that Connie never called to ask for permission. They clearly spoke, so I let you all see that. Nobody ever denied the word bitch was used without her permission. Also saying I never edited the footage, another lie. I only posted a few clips on Snapchat to make my point and the full video that

Starting point is 00:16:45 recently leaked doesn't change the narrative. And following this thread, we saw Taylor Swift's publicist release a tweet writing, I'm Taylor's publicist and this is my unedited original statement. By the way, when you take parts out, that's editing. Including that original statement. And that is essentially the situation as it is now. Now a few things to end on. One, this was an interesting situation because Taylor Swift kind of used this

Starting point is 00:17:03 drama as a way to promote to a potential good during this coronavirus pandemic. Two, given how historically the Kardashian clan has been just so fantastic at manipulating public attention, it's hard for me to not feel like there's a good chance that they knowingly leaked this, especially because it just so happens

Starting point is 00:17:17 that the next season of Keeping Up with the Kardashians launches on Thursday. And three, at the very least, maybe this just took your mind off of much heavier topics for just a brief moment. And so with that kind of thinking, I do pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts looking at this now revised situation?

Starting point is 00:17:31 Also, in general, on any story today, I'd love to know your thoughts. But that is where I'm going to end today's show. Thanks, of course, for watching. If you liked this video, hit us with a like. If you're new here, want more of these daily videos, hit that subscribe button. Definitely tap that bell to turn on notifications.

Starting point is 00:17:43 Also, if you're looking for more to watch, maybe you missed yesterday's show or you want to catch one of those brand new clips, you can click or tap right there to watch one of those. But with that said, of course, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love yo faces and I'll see you tomorrow. So I think Easter Sunday and you'll have packed churches all over our country. I think it would be a beautiful time.

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The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 3.24 NEW Taylor Swift LEAK Backlash, Hydroxychloroquine Truth, & Trump's Easter Coronavirus Plan

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