Mike Rogers deletes endorsement from peddler of fake pills that ‘reverse’ COVID vaccines
The Michigan Republican Senate hopeful had promoted his endorsement from Kash Patel, a former Trump administration official who promoted a fake ‘MRNA detox’ pill.
Mike Rogers, the former Michigan congressman who is running for the Republican nomination for Senate, touted the endorsement of a former Trump administration official who is pushing a fake pill that claims to reverse the effects of COVID-19 vaccines.
“I’m proud to have the endorsement from a true America First Patriot, Kash Patel!” Rogers, who is running for the Michigan U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, said in a post on X. Rogers deleted the post on May 17, four days after sending it, after he received backlash from the national security committee, according to a report from the Detroit News’ Melissa Nann Burke.
Patel, who worked as a staffer on former President Donald Trump’s National Security Council, has promoted a pill called Nocovidium on his Truth Social account; the pill, sold by a company called Warrior Essentials, is falsely advertised to “eliminate pathogens and toxins, including the harmful spike protein” from the COVID-19 vaccine, from the human body.
“Mrna detox, reverse the vaxx n get healthy with @warrioressentials,” Patel wrote in his Truth Social post.
Nocovidium is one of a number of supplements being sold by anti-vaccine advocates that are purported to reverse the effects of the life-saving COVID-19 vaccines. Experts say the supplements are bogus.
“None of these substances in any form would minimize side effects from a COVID-19 vaccine,” Dr. Matthew Laurens, the director of the University of Maryland’s fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases, told Agence France-Presse. “Side effects from the vaccine are essentially related to the immune response that is stimulated in response to vaccination.”
Hawking sham anti-vaccine supplements is not the only controversial thing Patel has done.
He was a key figure in the events that led to Trump’s first impeachment, which centered around Trump’s effort to withhold military support from Ukraine in an effort to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into providing damaging information about then-presidential candidate Joe Biden. Former White House officials said Patel served as a back channel to Trump to help push the scheme.
Patel was granted immunity to testify before a federal grand jury that indicted Trump on charges that he mishandled classified materials after leaving the White House. Patel claimed that Trump had declassified the materials he took from the White House and later stored in insecure areas of his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. There is no evidence that Trump had declassified the top secret materials he had in his possession.
Patel appeared on former Trump administration official Steve Bannon’s podcast in December 2023 and vowed retribution against members of the media and government whom Trump considers his enemies.
“We’re going to come after you whether it’s criminally or civilly,” Patel said. “We’ll figure that out.”
Michigan’s Senate race is expected to be one of the most competitive contests in November. Stabenow’s term expires in January.
Rogers is one of a handful of Republicans running for the GOP nomination, along with fellow former Reps. Peter Meijer and Justin Amash. Trump endorsed Rogers in the primary.
On the Democratic side, Rep. Elissa Slotkin is the front-runner for the nomination.
Inside Elections, a nonpartisan political analysis outlet, rates the race tilt Democratic.
