The head of the FDA stood with the president and touted a COVID-19 treatment, basically the serum of people who have had the disease. Then he stood with the president while Mr. Trump claimed, falsely, that others at the FDA are intentionally delaying approval of other treatments until after the election.

As usual, Trump cited no evidence. There isn't any, for the same reason there is no evidence that the moon is made of green cheese.

Even by Trump standards, this was an amazingly vicious lie. It amounts, more or less, to an accusation of conspiracy to commit mass murder: Hundreds of Americans die of the disease every day, so any outfit that would intentionally delay the release of an effective treatment would be intentionally increasing the body count.

It boggled my mind that the head of the FDA could stand there and listen to Trump spout this poison without objecting on behalf of the public servants who work for all of us. I understand that working for Trump involves countenancing untruths, but even so.

I should not have wondered. Stephen Hahn, head of the FDA, had been lying himself in touting the serum cure. The number he cited — a 35% decrease in the death rate — was made up. He has since apologized.

Apology not accepted.

Eric Kuhn

Middletown