Trump spars with Fauci, reporter on unproven drug

In an extraordinary exchange, President Donald Trump and government's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, publicly contricted each or Friday on wher a malaria drug would work to treat people with coronavirus disease.

scene played out on national television during daily White House briefing on outbreak.

A reporter asked both men if a malaria drug called hydroxychloroquine could be used to prevent COVID-19, disease caused by virus, as Trump h suggested a day earlier when Fauci wasn't with him at that briefing.

Although re has been much back and forth about that drug in recent days, re is medicine specifically approved for treating COVID-19.

Fauci took question and got right to point. "," he said. " answer ... is ."

" information that you're referring to specifically is anecdotal," Fauci ded firmly. "It was t done in a controlled clinical trial, so you really can't make any definitive statement about it."

He went on to explain that Food and Drug ministration is looking for a way to make drug available to patients for emergency use, but in a manner that gives government data about wher it's safe and effective. Fauci is director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at NIH and in more than 30 years has handled HIV, SARS, MERS, Ebola and w new coronavirus.

But Trump stuck to what his gut was telling him. As two men took turns at podium, Trump said he disagreed with tion that re is magic drug for coronavirus disease. "Maybe and maybe t," he said. "Maybe re is, maybe re isn't. We have to see."

He struck an upbeat te, while trying t to directly challenge Fauci. "It may work, may t work. I feel good about it. That's all it is, just a feeling, you kw, I'm a smart guy. I feel good about it," Trump said.

president also attacked a NBC reporter who asked if his "impulse to put a positive spin on things may be giving Americans a false sense of hope."

Trump shot back at Peter Alexander calling him a "terrible reporter" and saying he "should be ashamed" of himself.

Hydroxychloroquine and a similar drug — chloroquine — are available w and can be prescribed off-label by doctors in United States. y may interfere with coronavirus being able to enter cells, and some scientists have reported possible encouraging signs in test-tube and or small studies.

vast majority of people recover from new virus. According to World  Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.