Anderson Cooper challenged MyPillow founder Mike Lindell over a “supplement,” Lindell says “cures COVID.” This comes two days after AXIOS broke the following news:
The experimental botanical extract, oleandrin, was promoted to Trump during an Oval Office meeting in July. It’s embraced by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and MyPillow founder and CEO Mike Lindell, a big Trump backer, who recently took a financial stake in the company that develops the product. Lindell told Axios that in the meeting, Trump “basically said: …’The FDA should be approving it.’”
Today, Cooper challenged Lindell as to what information he had to support his claims. These are claims that included, “I do what Jesus has me do!” While Lindell said this extract was tested on 1000 people, he had no other information about any kind of study done, instead, he offered this up: “I have 100 friends and family — this thing works. It is the miracle of all time.” Here’s how the CNN anchor followed up:
“You have no medical background. You’re not a scientist. A guy called in April saying he had this product. You are now on the board and going to make money from the sale of this product. The reason he reached out to you is because you have the ear of the president, so he gets a meeting with the president and you stand to make money from it. How do you sleep at night?”
“How are you different than a snake oil salesman? You have no medical background. There’s no evidence of this substance. It hasn’t been tested in animals or humans.”
—@andersoncooper relentlessly grills MyPillow CEO for evidence that the plant extract he's pushing as a miracle cure for coronavirus works.
"Where is the test?"
"The tests are out there."
"Where is the test? Show it to us."
"I don't have the test." pic.twitter.com/iSmKnonqQ4
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) August 18, 2020
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