Pelosi said calling Trump 'morbidly obese' was a 'dose of his own medicine' given his past comments about women

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wendesday said that she gave President Donald Trump a "dose of his own medicine" when she called him "morbidly obese" earlier in the week.
• "I gave him a dose of his own medicine. He's called women one thing or another over time," Pelosi said.
• Pelosi's comments on Trump's weight came in reference to the president's announcement he's taking a controversial drug, hydroxychloroquine, in an effort to prevent COVID-19.
• Hydroxychloroquine is an anti-malarial drug, and the FDA says it has not been shown to be "safe and effective for treating or preventing COVID-19."
• The FDA last month issued a warning that the drug can cause heart problems.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday defended referring to President Donald Trump as "morbidly obese," stating that she delivered him a "dose of his own medicine" in terms of the president's prior disparaging remarks toward women.

"I gave him a dose of his own medicine. He's called women one thing or another over time," Pelosi said. "I was only quoting what doctors had said about him so I was being factual in a very sympathetic way."

Trump has frequently made negative comments about the appearances of women, attacking an array of public figures ranging from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to comedian and actress Rosie O'Donnell.

"She's a slob. How does she even get on television? If I were running The View, I'd fire Rosie. I'd look her right in that fat, ugly face of hers and say, 'Rosie, you're fired,'" Trump once said of O'Donnell, for example.

—CSPAN (@cspan) May 20, 2020

The House Speaker earlier this week referred to Trump as "morbidly obese" after the president told reporters he'd begun taking the hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug, in an effort to stave off the novel coronavirus. The president has controversially promoted the drug as a treatment for the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, even though scientists are highly skeptical of its benefits in this regard.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in late April issued a warning on the use of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19.

"The FDA is aware of reports of serious heart rhythm problems in patients with COVID-19 treated with hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine," the warning stated. "Therefore, we would like to remind health care professionals and patients of the known risks associated with both hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine."

The FDA said the drug has not been shown to be "safe and effective for treating or preventing COVID-19."

Pelosi raised concerns about Trump's health (and weight) after the president announced he's taking the drug.

"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 his, shall we say, weight group," Pelosi said during an interview with the CNN host Anderson Cooper on Monday.

"I think it's not a good idea," she added.

Pelosi went on to describe the 73-year-old Trump as "morbidly obese," citing his prior White House physicals that placed him slightly above the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's criteria for being "obese."

Trump stood 6-foot-3 and weighed in at 243 pounds in 2019 — 4 pounds greater than in the previous year. His body mass index based on those numbers would be 30.4, slightly above the CDC's cutoff, 30.0, between overweight and obese.

David Choi contributed reporting.

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