Ben Carson is taking coronavirus treatment advice from the MyPillow guy

Before he was a failed presidential candidate and then President Trump's Housing and Urban Development secretary, Ben Carson was a renowned neurosurgeon.

While his expertise is not in infectious diseases, Carson's medical background seemingly should make him capable of distinguishing real coronavirus treatments from snake oil. At the absolute, very least, he's more qualified to do so than a man who invented a special pillow.

But for some reason, Carson, who is one of the many White House officials who have tested positive for COVID-19, is taking medical advice from the Trump-loving MyPillow inventor Mike Lindell. "I heard about the oleander extract from Mike," Carson tells The Washington Post, referring to a potentially toxic and definitely unproven tincture Lindell has been pushing. Lindell has a financial stake in the company that makes oleander extract, which does not have FDA approval to treat COVID-19.

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"Anybody who has ever gotten COVID and taken it, they are fine in five hours, and the next day are running around playing floor hockey in the hallway," Lindell told the Post. Carson says his COVID-19 symptoms have faded after taking the possibly dangerous extract. No word on if he has started a floor hockey league in the West Wing just yet.