President Donald Trump has made a shocking claim about the influencer he picked to be Surgeon General just days after calling her ‘one of the finest’.
Last Wednesday (May 7), Trump made the surprise announcement that a new nominee for the position of US Surgeon General would be health entrepreneur and wellness influencer Casey Means.
This came as a shock to the public after it was revealed that Means is not actually a practising physician.
At the time, the president said that Means has an ‘absolutely outstanding’ record and that she has the ‘potential to be one of the finest Surgeon Generals in United States History’.
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However, just one day later, Trump made very different claims, stating that he doesn’t actually know who Means is.
The president was questioned by a reporter who asked: “You just announced a new nominee for the US Surgeon General who never finished her residency, and is not a practicing physician. So can you explain why you picked her to be America’s top doctor?”
In response, Trump said: “Because Bobby thought she was fantastic, she’s a brilliant woman who went through Stanford and, as I understand it, she wanted to be an academic as opposed to a surgeon.
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“I think she graduated first in her class at Stanford and Bobby really thought she was great, I don't know her, I listened to the recommendation of Bobby.
“I met her yesterday and once before, she’s a very outstanding person and a great academic actually, so I think she’ll be great.”
Bobby is a nickname for Robert F Kennedy Jr who is the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services.
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This has sparked concern from the public with many taking to social media to share their own reactions to Trump’s reasoning behind the new appointment, with many sharing a similar sentiment of shock that the president admitted he ‘doesn’t know’ the person he is backing for the role.
On X, formerly Twitter, one user wrote: “So, reads books and passes tests great, but no actual field experience or exposure to the choas of surgery and just dealing with patients. But Bobby likes her, so it's cool.”
Another said: “He says she graduated first in her class at Stanford. Her website says she received a Stanford BA with honors and an MD from Stanford Med School. If she was first in her class at either level, wouldn't she say that? Or was this another ‘useful hyperbole’ thing?”
And a third person added: “Not a doctor. Didn’t finish residency. Trump doesn’t know her. Perfect MAGA resume.”