Most readers of this blog are familiar with "Schrödinger's cat". The idea is that if you put a cat and something that could kill it into a box, you won't know whether the cat is dead or alive until you open the box and look inside. It's a thought experiment meant to demonstrate the problem with trying to measure quantum mechanics. The idea is that the act of observing (or measuring) something can change its state, thus making the observation measurement flawed. This notion can be applied to measuring electrical current, temperature, etc., although to a much lesser degree.

How does this apply to tRump? Monday, tRump declare that he had been taking hydroxychloroquine for about 10 days. That would correspond to the date when it was announced that tRump's personal valet had tested positive for Coronavirus. He stated subsequently that he was taking it as a "preventative".

Never mind that tests show that it's efficacy is nil, and positive results are strictly anecdotal. The few somewhat controlled studies have showed no difference in rates of improvement between the drug and a placebo.

So again - how does this relate to Schrödinger's cat? In this case, the "box" is tRump's reflexive propensity for lying. He lies about everything - even when he doesn't have to. To believe anything he says is to completely ignore the >10K documented lies he has told in just the time he's been in office. So that leaves us with the conundrum - is he telling the truth about this? Here is where the cat comes in:

Possibility 1: He's telling the truth. This means he - of questionable health - is taking a dangerous drug. Is his doctor prescribing or providing it for him? Is he getting it via the "black market", and taking it against doctor's orders? This is dangerous, because it could blow up his heart. It means either his doctor is a quack, or tRump is an illicit drug user.

Possibility 2: He's lying. Unless someone is willing to intentionally disclose tRump's PHI, we'll never know. This would mean he's trying to stave off questions about whether he might have the disease, with the unspoken reality that it might incapacitate him enough to require handing the reins over to Pence. He could also be doing it to pull news cycles from other stories that are harmful to him, such as arms sales to Saudi Arabia, or the disaster that this pandemic has become.

There is also a 3rd possibility: He's lying but only thinks he's telling the truth. This would be the case if his doctor agreed to give him the drug, but gave him a sugar pill instead. This is dangerous, because it means that he's getting close to Hitler-in-the-bunker territory, where the ever-shrinking group of yes-men he surrounds himself with are actively "disobeying" orders because they know he's lost his mind.

Regardless of the state of tRump in his "box", the other obvious danger is the signal it sends to his cult followers. To them, this is a thumbs up to take hydroxychloroquine if you want to avoid getting Covid-19. This will kill more of his followers. That's not what a president should be doing. His declaration, whatever the truth, is problematic. That's the one thing we can say with any certainty without having to open the box.