‘Something very artificial and aggressive’: Donald Trump’s ‘strange’ choice reveals his Health Secretary is ‘controlled’ by someone else

President Donald Trump has just announced Dr. Casey Means as the new Surgeon General, withdrawing his initial choice of Dr. Janette Nesheiwat.

The writing was on the wall when Laura Loomer — who has close ties to the administration — went on X to publicly criticize Dr. Nesheiwat. Loomer called her a nepo appointee who is pro-COVID vaccine and demanded that President Trump announce a new nominee. Well, Trump heeded Loomer’s call and, on Wednesday, May 7, took to Truth Social to announce that he’s going to instead nominate Dr. Casey Means. Despite Dr. Means having an inactive medical license.

We really need a new nominee for US Surgeon General.

I know @realDonaldTrump likes people who go on TV for some weird reason I will never understand (I still love him), but we can’t have a pro-COVID vaccine nepo appointee who is currently embroiled in a medical malpractice case… https://t.co/DkDbFZDqcS pic.twitter.com/6bEVmaLPZ1

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) May 5, 2025

On X, some users are already expressing skepticism over Dr. Means’ appointment due to her lack of known clinical experience. Dr. Suzanne Humphries speculated that Dr. Means might have been “carefully groomed” to tow the party line. It doesn’t help matters considering the fact that, up until now, Dr. Means has been focusing on wellness advocacy rather than any form of medical practice.

Dr Jack Kruse tried to tell us. Mary Talley Bowen was on the podcast too. She knows the deal with Means. Let’s see how this all pans out… I can’t help but think this is a very carefully groomed and selected person. Just about no clinical experience. Talks a great game about… https://t.co/253VCyZBoK

— Dr Suzanne Humphries (@DrSuzanneH7) May 7, 2025

In Trump’s Truth Social post, the president credited his appointment to Dr. Means’ ability to “implement our agenda.” And sometimes that supersedes actual competency. Just recently, it was revealed that key members of the administration — such as FBI Director Kash Patel — barely show up to their offices. The same was the case when a CBS interview revealed that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is unaware of some goings-on at the Health Department, such as a research project on adolescent diabetes being fully cut.

Conspiracies around the appointment were rife almost immediately. One X user claimed that Dr. Means is part of a larger plot involving “health influencers” who rose from seemingly out of the blue and were platformed on Joe Rogan’s podcast — seemingly to give them legitimacy — and then ended up in high government positions.

Interesting….I followed a lot of health influencers over the years and had at least heard of all the big players. Her and Calley seemed to just come out of nowhere appearing on Rogan, Brecka, etc…while offering nothing all that different. This is one I’ll be watching closley. https://t.co/U42nqJrj3Q

— M.J. Hollenbeck (@mjhollenbeck) May 7, 2025

It is worth mentioning, however, that Trump has never hidden his affinity for celebrity, and he probably identifies more with influencers and TV stars than politicians. Loomer herself expressed the same when she said Trump has a weird obsession with people who go on TV, something she considers a flaw. So while they may “offer nothing different,” getting on Fox News or The Joe Rogan Experience is definitely an effective way to get his attention — and probably audition for a high government position.

Another worrying development on the matter was when RFK Jr.’s former running mate Nicole Shanahan shared on X that RFK Jr. personally promised her that neither Dr. Means nor her brother would be appointed to HHS roles. Shanahan also suspected grooming and called the entire ordeal “something very artificial and aggressive.” They all seem to believe that RFK Jr. and these government officials are reporting to someone who’s actually running things — and it’s not President Trump. Perhaps it’s Elon Musk? But at this point, it’s difficult to know.

Yes, it’s very strange. Doesn’t make any sense. 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). I don’t know if RFK very clearly… https://t.co/KDb5O5MvAM

— Nicole Shanahan (@NicoleShanahan) May 8, 2025

Dr. Means studied medicine at Stanford University, where she also earned her medical degree. She went on to later drop out of medical residency and has been a “health influencer” ever since. She runs a glucose monitoring company and wrote a book that talks about metabolism. And now, she is the Surgeon General of the United States.