The Josh Lafazan Show on YouTube - Episode 105

Trump’s Surgeon General Pick Has INACTIVE Medical License? Why Doctors Are Outraged

The Josh Lafazan Show on YouTube - Episode 105

Trump’s Surgeon General Pick Isn’t a Licensed Doctor?! | The Josh Lafazan Show

Welcome to The Josh Lafazan Show! Today’s episode dives into one of the most baffling and dangerous nominations in recent political memory: Donald Trump’s new pick for Surgeon General — Dr. Casey Means — a wellness influencer who, despite holding a medical degree, isn’t licensed to practice medicine, never completed a residency, and has no background in public health. Yes, you read that correctly. This is the person Trump wants to appoint as America’s Doctor.

This isn’t partisan hysteria — it's about qualifications, competence, and protecting the public health of 330 million Americans. Dr. Means’ nomination is being widely criticized from both sides of the aisle and across media outlets including The Independent, Mediaite, and Yahoo News. This is not just another Trump pick stirring controversy. It’s arguably his least qualified nominee yet, in a role that could literally save — or cost — lives.

In this episode, I break down:

• How Dr. Means dropped out of medical residency, meaning she cannot be board certified or legally practice medicine
  
   
• Why her medical license is currently inactive
  
   
• Her history of promoting alternative medicine and wellness products to non-diabetics despite lacking a relevant clinical background
  
   
• Her anti-vaccine rhetoric, including statements that vaccine mandates are “criminal” and praise for RFK Jr.’s conspiratorial attacks on the FDA
  
   
• Her disturbing claims that “there is no benefit” to children receiving the Hepatitis B vaccine — a basic public health safeguard backed by decades of science
  
   

Let’s be clear: past Surgeons General — whether appointed by Democrats or Republicans — have almost always had extensive experience in infectious disease research, community health leadership, or medical education.

Compare Dr. Means to recent Surgeons General:
✅ Dr. Vivek Murthy (Biden) — A Yale-trained internal medicine physician and former vice admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, with years of experience navigating national health crises
✅ Dr. Jerome Adams (Trump’s first term) — An anesthesiologist and former Indiana State Health Commissioner, with expertise in combating the opioid crisis
✅ Dr. Regina Benjamin (Obama) — A rural physician with over $11M in research support, former president of the Alabama Medical Association, and a trailblazer in Black women’s leadership in medicine

Now compare that to Dr. Means — a person who walked away from clinical medicine because she was “disillusioned” with basic science, and who built a brand around wellness tech products, controversial takes, and conspiracy-adjacent views.

But the absurdity doesn’t stop there.

Trump’s first pick for Surgeon General was Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, a Fox News contributor with actual medical credentials. So why didn’t she get the nod? Because she was torpedoed by far-right activist Laura Loomer, who launched a smear campaign against her. That’s right: Loomer — the same person who pushes conspiracies like 9/11 being an inside job and Haitian immigrants eating pets — has somehow gained veto power in Trump’s circle.

Even Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican, blasted Loomer as a “crazy conspiracy theorist” who’s harming Trump’s chances in 2024. And even Marjorie Taylor Greene — no stranger to extremism herself — publicly rebuked Loomer for going too far. When MTG thinks you’ve crossed the line, maybe it’s time to rethink your life choices.

This isn’t about ideology. It’s about the fundamental competence of people who are being handed immense power. If a nominee for Surgeon General — the nat