D. T. Barnum

sk your doctor” are how all those TV ads for prescription medications go, along with the required scary warnings that in rare cases, your head may suddenly explode. Well, one patient who asked his doctor is Donald J. Trump, who “heard a lot of good stories” how hydroxychloroquine and zinc could ward off coronavirus.

The way Trump, a well-established liar, told it Monday afternoon, the White House physician said okay and wrote the prescription for him to take the pill daily. A week and a half later, so far, so good, says the huckster who calls himself president.

We trust the White House doc would only prescribe a drug he believes to be in the best interest of his patient. We pray there was no undue pressure from a man who’s called the drug a “gamechanger” as evidence to the contrary has mounted, including warnings from the FDA that it presents serious risks to the human heart.

By touting the pill to millions, Trump now encourages countless people to besiege their doctors with pleas for their own prescriptions, leaving lupus and rheumatoid arthritis patients who truly need the now-scarce drug high and dry. Bad medicine indeed.

A far better use of Trump’s time would’ve been showing the world how easy it is to get tested for COVID. Gov. Cuomo did his nose test on TV Sunday. Monday, he reported back negative.

Trump says that he doesn’t like the nose test. Instead, he’s thumbing his nose at the experts again — with potentially fateful results.