Trump-loving cartoonist Ben Garrison says he is struggling to beat COVID — and is treating it with ivermectin

On Monday, Gizmodo reported that Ben Garrison — a prominent right-wing political cartoonist — has announced he has COVID-19, but that he will not go to the hospital and will instead treat his illness with ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug that is not approved to treat COVID-19.

"Yes, it's definitely COVID and we've had all the symptoms. My wife and [I] went out with a couple to a restaurant and the next day all four of us were sick. One of us went to see a doctor and was told she had COVID, and that was the clincher," Garrison told Gizmodo. He added that "we're taking Ivermectin and various vitamins including a lot of Zinc," to treat the disease.

The couple has apparently suffered from COVID-19 for about two weeks and "it has been rough," Garrison said. But he still refuses to get the vaccine or go to a hospital, falsely claiming that both options are deadly.

A firm supporter of former President Donald Trump, Garrison has come under controversy for his cartoons over the years. In 2020, he sued the Anti-Defamation League for calling some of his cartoons anti-Semitic, but his lawsuit itself leaned heavily on anti-Semitic conspiracy theories accusing the Rothschild family and billionaire philanthropist George Soros of controlling the world.

Garrison has also promoted anti-vaccine conspiracy theories for years. He has published cartoons falsely linking vaccines to autism, and earlier this month endorsed ivermectin with a cartoon of a horse kicking Dr. Anthony Fauci.

The ivermectin treatment has become popular among Trump supporters who reject the vaccine, and those who haven't been going to farm supply stores to treat themselves with livestock formulations have often gotten their supply through a network of right-wing doctors offering prescriptions through telemedicine services.