After a four day stay in Walter Reed hospital Donald Trump posted a video to Twitter making claims about having good health and praising an experimental, yet to be FDA approved, drug Regeneron.
Trump claimed it was his suggestion to receive the drug as treatment for the virus and touted it's effectiveness saying:
"I went in and I wasn't feeling so hot, and within a very short period of time they gave me Regeneron. It's called Regeneron."
"And other things too, but I think this was the key. They gave me Regeneron. And it was like, unbelievable."
In a nod to his evangelical base the President even referred to the mix of monoclonal antibodies as "a blessing from God."
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT! pic.twitter.com/uhLIcknAjT
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2020
Trump said:
"So I think this was a blessing from God that I caught it. This was a blessing in disguise"
Except…the "blessing" Trump described was only possible thanks to the use of stem cells derived from abortion tissue.
The Trump administration has aimed to please the pro-life GOP voter base by taking a strict stance against the use of fetal tissue in medical research. In fact, in 2019 it celebrated a "major pro-life victory" after preventing the National Institutes of Health from funding research involving these stem cells. Trump supporters referred to the practice as "outrageous and disgusting" and called it "experimentation using baby body parts."
The company that developed the experimental drug, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, utilized HEK 293T cells (originally fetal tissue from an abortion in the Netherlands) to manufacture virus like "pseudoparticles" to test the effectiveness of different antibodies on the virus.
The hypocrisy was blatant in the Trump administration's lack of comment on the President suggesting and using the very type of treatment they worked for 4 years to ban.
Does he have any clue what Regeneron costs or that it was developed with, and is tested on, fertilized human eggs? What the anti-choice folks call "babies".#ProLife hypocrisy.
Paragraph 3: https://t.co/4kNvsEENEq pic.twitter.com/p3iU6fmoD8
— 🌊SHRED🌊 (@Hobie_SHRED) October 8, 2020
COVID isn't a big deal. If you get it, follow these steps:
1. See doctors in your in-home medical center 🏥
2. If needed, board the helicopter out back 🚁
3. Fly to the best hospital in the country 👨⚕️ 👩⚕️
4. Take the best therapeutics $750 in federal taxes can buy 💵
— Parry Headrick ⚡️ (@pheadrick) October 7, 2020
Using fetal tissue for pharmaceutical testing a common practice.
What makes this noteworthy is the the Trump administration has been vocally against it, and even banned federally funding to gov't scientists using human fetal tissue.
— Kate Smith (@byKateSmith) October 9, 2020
To every voter who is still considering voting for @realDonaldTrump because of his position on abortion. He is touting a drug that was developed using fetal tissue AND his family is making millions of dollars from investing in that company. Regeneron. He is making fools of you!
— ken olin (@kenolin1) October 11, 2020
“The treatment for Covid-19 received by Mr. Trump, a cocktail of monoclonal antibodies he called a “cure" in a Twitter video was developed using human cells derived from a fetus aborted decades ago." Take that, pro-lifers! He restricted fetal tissue use until it came to himself.
— bettemidler (@BetteMidler) October 9, 2020
The conservative administration has continued to block any scientific research that relies even indirectly on abortion tissue.
People had some questions.
I know all of you “pro-life" people must be upset that trump took a drug made with stem cells, right? Regeneron uses stem cells in that cocktail. You are going to vote against trump for using fetal tissue, right???
— Heather 🐝 (@realHeatherD) October 7, 2020
Regeneron uses stem cells from fetal tissue. How do you reconcile that with Bill Barr and Amy Coney Barrett, for starters, or THIS, for that matter? @TheJusticeDept #AmyConeyBarrett https://t.co/AlQUqhNj7o
— Muriel McCormack (@MurielMccormack) October 8, 2020
The response?
Crickets.
If there was an instance of hypocrisy so glaring from Biden/Harris as the president nominating Barrett then using Regeneron, it's certain reporters would talk about it endlessly for days and demand answers.
Reporters enable so much Republican BS by letting things slide. #Media
— Alt Sauron (@darklordtweetz) October 8, 2020
The Trump family also has large sums of money invested into Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and the promotion of the company by Trump sounded like a sales pitch to some. Want to know who really benefits from something? Follow the money.
REGENERON! pic.twitter.com/x3PZt0onIr
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) October 8, 2020
But wait, there's more! Call now and I'll throw in a tour of the west wing with a meet and greet of all the staff I've infected!
— Dan Gerous,(Mask TF Up) Inc.🐷😷 (@Anythingpork) October 8, 2020
While Trump continues his pro-life stance against this potential life saving research, his fight against accessible health care and blaming U.S. problems on immigration and China many are left questioning the President's motive and capability.
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Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images