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Donald Trump’s former National Security Adviser has recently been pushing a bizarre conspiracy theory that the medical establishment is talking about putting COVID-19 vaccines in salad dressing.
Michael Flynn brought up this theory while speaking on a podcast on Wednesday, exclaiming: “Somebody sent me a thing this morning where they’re talking about putting the vaccine in salad dressing or salads.
“Have you seen this? And I’m thinking to myself, this is the Bizarro World, right? This is definitely the Bizarro World... These people are seriously thinking about how to impose their will on us, in our society, and it has to stop.”
Delicious as vaccine via salad dressing sounds, it appears he is referring to recent research that looked at using plants for the production of therapeutic proteins that could be eaten. His statements, however, are a clear misrepresentation of the research. There is zero evidence that governments or pharmaceutical companies have any interest in using this technology to covertly dose people with vaccines. Furthermore, this technology has been around for some time and is already available in certain forms. In 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the first plant-made biologic for treating Gaucher's disease in the form of an enzyme produced in genetically engineered carrot cells.
Flynn is no stranger to the murky world of “deep state” plots. In July 2020, CNN reported that Flynn and his family posted a video on Independence Day of them appearing to take a pledge to QAnon, a cult-like conspiracy movement that posited former president Donald Trump was locked in a battle against a shadowy clan of Democratic cannibalistic pedophiles. As many people pointed out, the video featured many catchphrases and keywords used by the QAnon movement, such as "where we go one we go all." Flynn’s brother later filed a $75 million defamation lawsuit against CNN for publishing the video, claiming their statement was not an oath to QAnon, but a "simple, family, July 4 statement of support for each other."
He has also continued to push false claims of how a deep-state cabal "stole" the 2020 US presidential election. At a “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington DC on December 12, Flynn called on crowds to “fight back” against an alleged plot involving groundless claims of election fraud and rigged voting machines, citing "a spiritual battle for the heart and soul of this country." The assault on Capitol Hill by a mob of Trump supporters took place on January 6, 2021.
Before his foray into conspiracy theories, Flynn earned the record for being the shortest-serving National Security Adviser in the history of the US, lasting less than a month in office. He resigned in February 2017 after information emerged that showed he had misled top White House officials about his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the US. He pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI over his connections to Russia, although was ultimately let off due to a presidential pardon issued by Trump.
