It is being reported by Axios that Trump has asked the Food and Drug Administration to approve oleander plant extract to be marketed as a dietary supplement; or to treat COVID-19, despite the fact that the dietary supplement has not been proven to treat the disease.
Trump first learned about the extract during a July Oval Office meeting with Lindell and HUD Secretary Ben Carson. Trump, a personal friend of Lindell, voiced support for the extract in the meeting. Lindell also is reported to have a financial stake in the company developing the oleandrin product, Phoenix Biotechnology.
Phoenix Biotechnology engages in the research and development of therapeutic agents and treatment regimens for cancer. Its products enable physicians to deal with cancer as a chronic condition rather than an acute condition. The company was incorporated in 2003 and is based in San Antonio, Texas.
The My Pillow guy was a crack addict who bungled into making toxic polyurethane pillows after failing at card counting, pig farming and bartending. He’s been fined $1million for false health claims for his garbage pillows. Don’t talk medical advice from this goon. pic.twitter.com/SL0HyNl8Nz
— Brian Kirby (@ShelfLifeCC) August 17, 2020
“The involvement of the Secretary of HUD and MyPillow.com in pushing a dubious product at the highest levels should give Americans no comfort at night about their health and safety during a raging pandemic,” a senior administration official said, reports Business Insider.
“COVID-19 cured in two days”
With the help of Lindell, Andrew Whitney, an executive at Phoenix Biotechnology, personally met with the president to discuss the medical effects of oleandrin, according to the Washington Post, earlier this month. When interviewed by Axios, Whitney said he stood by his claim that oleandrin “cured” COVID-19 in a span of two days.
The my pillow guy has bought air time on CNN. This comes after Trump is promoting a toxic plant, which is fatal, he heard from the my pillow guy as a cure for the virus. pic.twitter.com/Pj1XNaRx0n
— Jayson Fras (@JaysonFras) August 17, 2020
“Now, there are all sorts of lawyers who would tell me I can’t say things like that, because you know you need to have years of studies, and you need to have this, that, and the other, and so forth,” Whitney told Axios. “But as an American with a right of free expression, I’m telling you, I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”
Whitney told Axios that the product had been tested on humans for its efficacy in treating COVID-19, but the study has not been released yet. However, just so everyone knows – there have been no peer-reviewed studies done on the ability of oleander extract to cure COVID-19.
Some facts about oleander
Nerium oleander – most commonly known as nerium or oleander, is a poisonous plant in the dogbane family. It is cultivated worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas as an ornamental and landscaping plant. It is the only species currently classified in the genus Nerium.
Oleander has historically been known as a poison, although some of the deaths from oleander are accidental, while others are due to suicide. However, oleander is also used as a medicine to treat a wide range of diseases, including heart conditions, asthma, epilepsy, cancer, painful menstrual periods, leprosy, malaria, ringworm, indigestion, and venereal disease. Oleander is also used to cause abortions.
Oleander has a couple of very poisonous compounds, oleandrin and oleandrigenin, known as cardiac glycosides, which have a narrow therapeutic index and can be toxic when ingested, especially if someone doesn’t know what they are doing.
What the actual fuck is happening?!
Oleandrin is a plant toxin best known for being the poison used to murder the cheating boyfriend in “White Oleander.”
Please make it stop.
“Trump eyes unproven COVID-19 “cure” promoted by MyPillow CEO” August 17, 2020
Cardiac reactions consist of irregular heart rate, sometimes characterized by a racing heart at first that then slows to below normal further along in the reaction. Extremities may become pale and cold due to poor or irregular circulation. The effect on the central nervous system may show itself in symptoms such as drowsiness, tremors or shaking of the muscles, seizures, collapse, and even coma that can lead to death.
And as far as being a treatment for cancer, according to the American Cancer Society, the trials conducted so far have produced no evidence of benefit, while they did cause adverse side effects.
