President Donald Trump faced immediate backlash Wednesday after announcing he would nominate wellness influencer Dr. Casey Means to serve as the country’s next surgeon general following the withdrawal of his original pick, Dr. Jeanette Nesheiwat, a former Fox News contributor.
Means is a Stanford-educated physician who dropped out of her surgical residency program before co-founding Levels, a digital health startup focused on metabolic health, The New York Times reported. She has frequently challenged mainstream medical institutions and has aligned herself with wellness and alternative health movements.
While Trump praised his new pick in a Truth Social post as having “impeccable ‘MAHA’ credentials,” critics were swift to pounce on the nomination.
“Trumps new Surgeon General pick is right up the alley for his HHS: Doctor in name only, hasn’t practiced, is an 'influencer,'” MSNBC medical contributor Dr. Vin Gupta wrote on Bluesky. “How far we have fallen. Fear not - this isn’t the end. We will push back at every step.”
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“Trump just announced this 37-year-old fraudulent ‘holistic health’ woo merchant to be Surgeon General,” podcaster Jim Stewartson told his X followers. “We’re all gonna die from stupid poisoning.”
Liz Charboneau, vice president of research for the liberal super PAC American Bridge 21st Century, posted on X: “New surgeon general nominee is an AI poet who thinks the devil pushes birth control, lysol, and vaccines btw.”
While Andrew Feinberg, The Independent’s White House correspondent, wrote on social media: “Trump picks conspiracy theorist with no medical license to replace Fox News contributor as Surgeon General.”
“I did not have a social media influencer who didn’t finish a medical residency becoming the Surgeon General on my 2025 bingo card, but here we are…” Dr. Zachary Rubin, a physician and internet personality, concluded on Bluesky about the new nomination.