Trump Admits He Doesn't 'Know' His Surgeon General Pick Despite Nominating Her: RFK Jr 'Thought She Was Fantastic'

President Donald Trump defended his nomination of Dr. Casey Means as US Surgeon General on Thursday by acknowledging that he barely knows her, but that, "Bobby thought she was fantastic."

A key voice in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, Means — who is not currently licensed to practice medicine and didn't finish her residency — was tapped by Kennedy after Trump's initial nomination of Janette Nesheiwat was withdrawn. Trump alluded to his complete faith in Kennedy's choice.

"Bobby really thought she was great. I don't know her, I listened to the recommendation of Bobby," Trump replied when a reporter asked why he would choose a person who never completed their medical residency to be America's top doctor.

After graduating with a medical degree from Stanford, Means was studying to become a surgeon when she chose to drop out of her medical residency and co-founded an app for glucose monitoring. Her focus shifted to a career as a health influencer, selling dietary supplements, cold-pressed juice, and courses on optimizing metabolism, according to her website.

"She's a brilliant woman who went through Stanford and basically wanted to be an academic opposed to a surgeon," Trump explained. "I met her yesterday and once before. She's a very outstanding person — a great academic actually — so I think she'll be great."

Means and her brother, Calley Mean, gained significant publicity last year with an appearance on Tucker Carlson's podcast promoting their co-authored wellness book, Good Energy. The episode, titled "The Truth About Ozempic, the Pill, and How Big Pharma Keeps You Sick," became Apple's most-shared podcast episode of 2024.

In addition to sharing Kennedy's conviction that environmental factors and food are creating a health crisis for Americans, Means has also condemned vaccine mandates, describing them as "criminal."

MAGA, and political commentator Laura Loomer in particular, have criticized her for not being anti-vaccine enough, while others cite concerns about her lack of medical experience. Kennedy issued a statement defending Means, accusing "corporate coffers" of paying influencers to "slander and vilify Casey, the same way they try to defame me and President Trump."

The Senate hearing to decide whether Means will be appointed to surgeon general has not yet been scheduled, but is likely to be a contentious one.