Dr. Nicole Saphier, President Donald Trump's third nominee for surgeon general, has deleted numerous social media posts in which she publicly criticized the administration's handling of major health issues, including measles elimination, vaccine policy and the 79-year-old president's own health transparency.
Just two months before her nomination in late April, Saphier – then a Fox News medical contributor – suggested in a now-deleted March post that the administration was concealing the loss of U.S. measles elimination status until after midterm elections, according to archived records reviewed by CNN's KFile.
"Seems like they may not want to admit the U.S. Measles elimination status is gone until after midterm elections," she wrote.
Saphier's deleted posts reveal a pattern of direct criticism of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Trump administration policies on vaccines and pregnancy health.
In September 2025, she objected to Trump's warnings against pregnant women taking Tylenol, writing: "As a mom of 3 kids, I don't love a man telling me to 'tough it out' when it comes to pregnancy. Words matter. Facts matter too." She later demanded public transparency, stating: "Obviously something was said to POTUS behind closed doors and the public deserves transparency on the data presented to substantiate these statements."
Saphier also repeatedly criticized Kennedy's overhaul of the CDC's vaccine advisory committee.
In a June 2025 post, she argued that newly appointed committee members "are lacking diversity of thought and areas of expertise, especially in data interpretation." By March 2026, a federal judge agreed, ruling that the replacement process violated federal legal procedures and finding that only six of fifteen committee members had meaningful vaccine expertise.
The radiologist mocked Trump directly during his feud with Elon Musk, calling them both "petty, loud, and obnoxious" engaged in a "sandbox" fight. She also questioned Trump's health transparency after he underwent an unexplained MRI in October 2025.
Saphier, 44, is a practicing radiologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and founder of DropRx supplement company. She became Trump's third choice for surgeon general after the White House withdrew the nominations of former Fox News contributor Dr. Janette Nesheiwat and wellness influencer Dr. Casey Means.
Former Trump surgeon general Jerome Adams called her a "solid pick," while noting that professional qualifications shouldn't require special praise in 2026.