MAGA Crackpots Turn on Trump’s Crackpot Surgeon General Nominee

Donald Trump withdrew his nominee for Surgeon General, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, on Wednesday following controversy over her credentials. The president quickly nominated a new pick, wellness influencer Dr. Casey Means, but even the MAGA faithful have already gotten the knives out for her.

Means attended Stanford Medical School and pursued her residency at Oregon Health & Science University, but dropped out before finishing the program, according to NPR. She’s an anti-vaxxer who doesn’t have a medical license and founded a company called Levels that sells products for monitoring glucose levels. Means, a close ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., also frequently talks about the importance of “spirituality” for health, as she did during an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast last year.

Laura Loomer, who can likely be credited for getting at least half a dozen people fired from Trump’s administration so far, has taken issue with Means and the far-right influencer seems to be most upset with her focus on spiritual matters. Means, like Kennedy and his MAHA movement, really emphasizes the role of spirituality in achieving the best health outcomes.

“I want to know which one of President Trump’s geniuses chose a woman who literally talks to trees and spiritual mediums and who doesn’t even have an active medical license to be the US Surgeon General,” Loomer wrote Thursday on X. “I would call her a Witch Doctor, but she doesn’t even have a valid active medical license. So I’m not going to call @CaseyMeansMD doctor.”

Loomer almost certainly helped torpedo Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, Trump’s first nominee for Surgeon General. But when it came to Nesheiwat, it seemed like Loomer was most angered by her acceptance of the covid-19 vaccine. Loomer falsely claims the vaccine is “now killing millions of people.” Loomer also took credit for getting others in Trump’s government fired, like the Director of the NSA and the National Security Advisor.

It’s not just Loomer. Nicole Shanahan also has major issues with Means and vented them Wednesday on X. Shanahan was Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate in the 2024 presidential election before he dropped out to endorse Trump. Shanahan wrote that it was “very strange” how Means was being selected and said that she had been promised the influencer wouldn’t be chosen for Surgeon General.

“I was promised that if I supported RFK Jr. in his Senate confirmation that neither of these siblings would be working under HHS or in an appointment (and that people much more qualified would be),” Shanahan wrote. “I don’t know if RFK very clearly lied to me, or what is going on. It has been clear in recent conversations that he is reporting to someone regularly who is controlling his decisions (and it isn’t President Trump). With regards to the siblings, there is something very artificial and aggressive about them, almost like they were bred and raised Manchurian assets.”

It’s not entirely clear what Shanahan means by “Manchurian assets” but it’s similar to the phrase Manchurian Candidate, a reference to the 1962 movie where Communists brainwash a captured American soldier in order to get him to kill the U.S. president.

Trump tweeted the announcement of Means as the nominee on Truth Social on Wednesday by praising her “academic achievements” and her “life’s work” as “absolutely outstanding.”

“Casey has impeccable ‘MAHA’ credentials, and will work closely with our wonderful Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to ensure a successful implementation of our Agenda in order to reverse the Chronic Disease Epidemic, and ensure Great Health, in the future, for ALL Americans,” Trump wrote. “Her academic achievements, together with her life’s work, are absolutely outstanding. Dr. Casey Means has the potential to be one of the finest Surgeon Generals in United States History. Congratulations to Casey!”

But as of Thursday, Trump seemed to want it both ways. The president would like credit for selecting Means but is also keeping her at arm’s length because he seems to sense that blowback is imminent. Asked about Means and her lack of a medical license on Thursday in the Oval Office of the White House, Trump said that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Bobby), liked her.

Means, who wrote a book called Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health, appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast last year and belittled double-blind, placebo-controlled studies while sarcastically referring to “the science” as a way to mock people who believe in things like vaccines. The Verge reports that Means and her company Levels was co-founded by Sam Corcos, who’s currently helping Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency dismantle the federal government.

But Trump’s strategic ignorance of his own government does appear to be working out for him thus far. Many X users blamed Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, for choosing Means. And that kind of rationalization is to be expected among Trump supporters. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones recently said that Trump must not understand how bad Real ID is and blamed the people around him for leading him astray by allowing the Real ID deadline to become reality.

Loomer is an anti-Muslim bigot and a ridiculous conspiracy theorist. But it’s darkly funny to watch her wield enormous power in Trump’s government. Here’s this crackpot who got banned from ordering takeout from Uber Eats because she’s too racist. And yet she gets to decide who might be the Surgeon General. What a country.