In 2020, Lindell promoted oleandrin as a treatment for coronavirus, which was derived from a what medical ethnobotanist Cassandra Quave called a “deadly plant poison,” and which Lindell stood to profit from.
Lindell met with Trump and his coronavirus task force to pitch oleandrin, which Lindell claimed Trump was “enthusiastic” about. Lindell also promoted the product on television and claimed he used it himself.
Oleandrin was derived from the plant oleander, which was toxic and potentially fatal and known to cause heart problems. Oleandrin was not properly tested for treating coronavirus, and the only study showing potential effectiveness was not peer reviewed and authored by Robert Newman, the president of Phoenix Biotechnology, the company that manufactured the product. Additionally, Lindell served on the board of Phoenix Biotechnology, and therefore held a financial stake in the success of oleandrin.
August 2020: Lindell Helped Arrange A Meeting Between Trump And Phoenix Biotechnology Executive Andrew Whitney Where Whitney Pitched Oleandrin As A Coronavirus Treatment. According to The Washington Post, “The president recently hosted Andrew Whitney, a biopharmaceuticals executive on the board of a company called Phoenix, who met in the Oval Office with Trump. Whitney, who has a limited health background, pitched Trump on a botanical extract called oleandrin as a treatment for the coronavirus, according to two senior administration officials with knowledge of the discussion. One official said Mike Lindell, a Trump booster and the chief executive of MyPillow — who stars as pitchman for his product in advertising on some of the Fox News shows Trump watches — helped arrange the meeting. Since then, Whitney has personally made overtures to senior leaders at the Food and Drug Administration, including its commissioner, Stephen Hahn, in an effort to get the agency to approve oleandrin as a treatment for the coronavirus.” [Washington Post, 8/8/20]
July 2020: Lindell Said Trump Was “Enthusiastic” About Oleandrin’s Potential As A Coronavirus Treatment And Wanted The FDA To “Do Its Course.” According to CNN, “President Donald Trump and Mike Lindell, the creator of MyPillow and an avowed supporter, participated in a July meeting at the White House regarding the use of oleandrin as a potential therapeutic for coronavirus, Lindell confirmed to CNN. Oleandrin is an extract from the plant Nerium oleander. The raw oleander plant is highly toxic, and consumption of it can be fatal. He described the President’s response toward the extract as ‘enthusiastic.’ ‘He was enthusiastic, as he is on everything that’s going to help people,’ he told CNN, adding that Trump wanted the Food and Drug Administration to ‘do its course.’” [CNN, 8/17/20]
2020: Lindell Claimed The Trump Administration Asked Him To Bring “Good Sanitizers Or Cures” For Coronavirus To The White House Task Force. According to Forbes, “Lindell told CNN host Anderson Cooper that ‘this great administration’ asked him to ‘bring back to the [White House coronavirus] task force’ anything that is promising to fight coronavirus, be they ‘good sanitizers or cures.’” [Forbes, 8/18/20]
2020: Lindell Promoted Oleandrin As A Coronavirus Cure On Newsmax, Saying He “Started Using It Myself And Giving It To Friends And Family Who Tested Positive.” According to The Guardian, “One of Phoenix’s board members is Mike Lindell, a prominent Trump backer, pitchman, and CEO of MyPillow. Lindell chairs Trump’s re-election effort in Minnesota. While Lindell has pitched Phoenix’s plant extract as a coronavirus cure on TV and to the president’s coronavirus taskforce, the company also quietly received $5m in funding from an undisclosed investor, patented its extract for use in Covid-19, and promoted an early study in monkey cells as proof of efficacy – an assertion one of the study’s own authors denies. Lindell told the TV host Greg Kelly, an anchor on the conservative Newsmax network: ‘I started using it myself and giving it to friends and family who tested positive.’” [The Guardian, 8/25/20]
2020: Oleandrin Was An Extract From The Highly Toxic Oleander Plant, Which Could Be Fatal If Consumed. According to CNN, “President Donald Trump and Mike Lindell, the creator of MyPillow and an avowed supporter, participated in a July meeting at the White House regarding the use of oleandrin as a potential therapeutic for coronavirus, Lindell confirmed to CNN. Oleandrin is an extract from the plant Nerium oleander. The raw oleander plant is highly toxic, and consumption of it can be fatal.” [CNN, 8/17/20]
HEADLINE: “Oleandrin Is A Deadly Plant Poison, Not A COVID-19 Cure” [Cassandra Quave Opinion – Conversation, 8/18/20]
Emory University Assistant Professor Of Dermatology And Human Health Cassandra Quave Opinion: Oleandrin Was The Chemical Causing The Oleander Plant To Be Poisonous And Cause Potentially Lethal Cardiac Arrhythmias And Other Effects On Heart Tissue. According to a Cassandra Quave opinion from The Conversation, “Nerium oleander is a highly toxic plant from the Apocynaceae family. Though renowned for its beauty and use in landscaping, this Mediterranean shrub is responsible for cases of accidental poisoning across the globe. All parts of the plant are poisonous. If eaten, it causes cardiac arrhythmias, or irregular heart rates, and can be lethal to both humans and animals. Oleandrin is the chemical that causes the plant’s lethal toxicity. It is known by scientists as a cardiac glycoside, a class of organic compounds with a common feature: They exhibit powerful effects on heart tissue, often with deadly consequences.” [Cassandra Quave Opinion – Conversation, 8/18/20]
2020: Experts Said There Was No Evidence Oleandrin Was “Either Safe Or Effective To Treat Or Prevent COVID-19.” According to The Guardian, “Allies of Donald Trump have promoted a plant extract called oleandrin to people seeking to ward off Covid-19. The plant the extract is derived from, oleander, is poisonous and there is no proof the compound is either safe or effective to treat or prevent Covid-19, experts say.” [The Guardian, 8/25/20]
July 2020: Phoenix Biotechnology President And Chairman Of The Scientific Advisory Board Robert Newman Authored A Non-Peer Reviewed Study Showing Oleandrin Could “Inhibit The Coronavirus In Monkey Kidney Cells.” According to Axios, “A July 2020 study from the University of Texas at Galveston shows, in a laboratory setting, that oleandrin can inhibit the coronavirus in monkey kidney cells. This study has not been peer reviewed and one of the authors of the study, Robert Newman, is chairman of Phoenix Biotechnology's scientific advisory board — the company developing the oleandrin product. Phoenix Biotechnology's website listed Newman as the president of the company and a member of its board of directors until quite recently (Google's cache shows he held both roles as of August 12th).” [Axios, 8/16/20]
2020: Phoenix Biotechnology Executive Andrew Whitney Asserted Oleandrin Cured COVID-19 In Two Days Despite Not Having “Years Of Studies” Because He Was “An American With A Right Of Free Expression” And Had “Seen It With [His] Own Eyes.” According to Axios, “Whitney has claimed to administration officials that oleandrin cures COVID-19 in two days, according to a source familiar with his private comments. But if the FDA allows oleandrin to be sold as a dietary supplement, the company would not be allowed to make medical claims about its ability to treat or cure COVID-19. Asked about this claim about oleandrin being a ‘cure’ for COVID-19, Whitney said he stands by it ‘100%.’ What they're saying: ’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 said. ‘But as an American with a right of free expression, I'm telling you, I've seen it with my own eyes.’ Whitney said that by ‘cure’ he means the symptoms go away quickly ‘in the vast majority of cases.’” [Axios, 8/16/20]
2020: Lindell Served On The Phoenix Biotechnology Board Of Directors And Stood To Profit From The Promotion Of Oleandrin. According to Forbes, “Lindell – who has no medical degrees – was slammed in the interview for pushing the drug to Trump while serving on the board of directors for Phoenix Biotechnology, a company manufacturing the extract, with Cooper alleging he ‘stands to make money from this.’” [Forbes, 8/18/20]
2020: Lindell Said He Joined The Board Of Phoenix Biotechnology Because He Wanted Oleandrin “To Get To The Public So Bad” And “To Get It Out There To Help People.” According to CNN, “Last week, Lindell was added to the board of Phoenix Biotechnology, which makes oleandrin, and received a financial stake in the company. ‘The reason I did that, I want this to get to the public so bad and I want to get it out there to help people,’ he said.” [CNN, 8/17/20]