An influencer evangelist spreading Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s MAHA agenda won’t be America’s next surgeon general.
Close Kennedy ally Casey Means is no longer Trump’s nominee for the role, and the president announced on Thursday that he would push for Dr. Nicole Saphier, a radiologist who specializes in breast cancer, to serve as the country’s top doctor instead.
After she was nominated, Means faced questions about her track record on vaccines, children’s health, and her own qualifications for the role, which is historically held by a practicing physician.Her nomination ultimately stalled out after facing opposition from Republicans who refused to back her for the role, including Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski .
Means, a 38-year-old wellness influencer who does not currently hold an active medical license, graduated from Stanford medical school but left her surgical residency program early. Means said she abandoned her training to “focus on the real root causes of why Americans are so sick,” which for her meant co-founding a health startup for monitoring blood glucose and cashing in on the social media wellness craze through paid promotions.
Moving beyond means
Trump’s former surgeon general nominee reined in some of her more extreme views after being tapped for the role, but the internet lives forever. Prior to being scrutinized as a soon-to-be high ranking government official, Means slammed the widespread use of hormonal birth control as a “disrespect of life,” called the practice of giving newborns the hepatitis B vaccine “absolute insanity” and derided Americans’ use of GLP-1 medications – a stated health priority of Trump himself.
Even with her nomination clearly on the rocks, Kennedy remained all-in on Means. “Casey Means is the most articulate, eloquent and erudite evangelist for the MAHA movement,” Kennedy declared last month during a House committee hearing, calling on lawmakers to throw their weight behind her.
Trump’s new nominee might not be Kennedy’s preferred pick, but she did write a book titled “Make America Healthy Again” back in 2020. In that book and others, Saphier emphasizes the power of lifestyle changes like diet and exercise, two major areas of emphasis for the MAHA movement. Unlike Means, Saphier is a practicing doctor, a plus that Trump is emphasizing given Means’ lack of credentials.
