‘Not A Leader’: Trump’s Surgeon General Pick Has Uphill Climb To Earning Trust Of MAGA Voters

Trump supporters bashed his Friday selection of Dr. Janette Nesheiwat for United States Surgeon General, citing her past positions on Covid-19, though some praised her apparent evolution on the subject.

Trump announced the pick Friday, calling Nesheiwat, a medical doctor and former Fox News contributor, “a strong communicator for preventive medicine and public health.”

While the President-elect showered praise on Dr. Nesheiwat, some of his biggest supporters decried her selection and demanded that he reconsider.

Nesheiwat’s praise for Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to censor certain Covid information on Facebook seemingly irked popular right-wing social media figures like former One America News Network anchor Liz Wheeler and influential meme account “I Meme Therefore I Am”

“First of all, vaccines save lives and I am so excited and I thank and I commend Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg for taking action because this affects everyone,” Nesheiwat said during an appearance on Fox Business Network.

I never did what was popular, but what was right. Here is a compilation of videos of Trump’s Surgeon General, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, and her stances during the COVID pandemic.

Dr. Janette Nesheiwat praised Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg for censoring individuals who questioned… pic.twitter.com/yyMW8eDgwE

— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) November 23, 2024

The “I Meme Therefore I Am” account posted the video and warned against accepting a candidate with views similar to those of Dr. Anthony Fauci.

“If you want President Trump to succeed, you should discourage him from appointing anyone like Fauci to his cabinet again.”

Conservative lawyer Julie Hamill replied to the video, calling the pick “totally unacceptable.”

Nesheiwat was also once an advocate for masking during the pandemic, a position Wheeler criticized as a “dealbreaker. (RELATED: Who’s Afraid Of RFK? New Poll Shatters Corporate Media’s ‘Fringe’ Narrative)

“Here’s the problem, Delta [Covid variant] is different. And that’s why the American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending that if you’re gonna be in a classroom, in a crowded classroom, then you want to protect yourself, wear a mask,” Nesheiwat told then-Fox News host Pete Hegseth in an August 2021 appearance.

“It’s important to point out, though, masking is not the only solution. We also need to make sure that we have good ventilation, that people are washing their hands, that they’re getting tested and that all the teachers are getting vaccinated as well,” she also said in the appearance.

Dr. Janette Nesheiwat supported masking kids in school. DEALBREAKER.

https://t.co/3ERoCD7tBR

— Liz Wheeler (@Liz_Wheeler) November 23, 2024

Nesheiwat criticized Republican Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo in October 2021 after he suggested masks may not be efficacious in stopping the spread of Covid-19.

NASHVILLE, TN – AUGUST 04: Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, Scott Stapp from the Rock band Creed and Founder of the CHARM foundation Jaclyn Stapp attend the 2018 CHARM Back To School Bash on August 4, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. Terry Wyatt/Getty Images

“Masks have saved thousands of lives and prevented thousands of infections,” Nesheiwat wrote in response to a clip of the video on X. (RELATED: American Kids In Crisis: Daily Caller’s ‘Do No Harm’ To Expose Fallout Of The Transgender Movement)

Wheeler took particular issue with this, publicly calling for Nesheiwat to withdraw her candidacy in a Sunday tweet.

“Dr. Janette Nesheiwat bashes Dr. Joseph Ladapo because Ladapo followed scientific evidence that masks don’t work. Nesheiwat should withdraw. She’s not a leader. She’s a sheep. She mindlessly parroted ‘the experts’ covid tyranny,” Wheeler wrote.

Dr. Janette Nesheiwat bashes Dr. Joseph Ladapo because Ladapo followed scientific evidence that masks don’t work.

Nesheiwat should withdraw. She’s not a leader. She’s a sheep. She mindlessly parroted “the experts” covid tyranny.

Actual leadership is Ladapo. pic.twitter.com/L6iUn6jWpS

— Liz Wheeler (@Liz_Wheeler) November 24, 2024

Some, however, praised the pick and noted Dr. Nesheiwat’s apparent pivot on many of those issues.

While writing in February 2021 that Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna were “a gift from God” and praising them as “our path out of the pandemic,” Nesheiwat later blasted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for adding the vaccine to the childhood schedule.

“There’s no good reason to have a vaccine that can’t stop disease, can’t stop transmission of disease, on this schedule of vaccination … This vote was irresponsible and illogical,” she told Tucker Carlson in October 2022.

Trump’s pick for Surgeon General, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, blasts the CDC to Tucker Carlson in 2022:

“There’s no good reason to have a vaccine that can’t stop disease, can’t stop transmission. On the childhood schedule….This vote was irresponsible and illogical.” pic.twitter.com/YSkBG3xhWQ

— Tucker Carlson Network 🇺🇸 Fan Account (@TCNetworkFans) November 23, 2024

Trump War Room, an X account affiliated directly with Trump’s presidential campaign, reposted multiple videos of Nesheiwat appearing to change her tune on masks and vaccines after her initial strong positions in favor of the measures.

One video the account posted shared a video of her criticizing “politicized” Covid mandates.

While many seemingly-MAGA faithful were still critical, some responded positively to her more recent comments.

“Good start – a lot of question marks for this candidate, so far so good,” one user wrote in response.

“I’m glad you guys are listening to us. Her positions on these issues back in 2020 were trash,” another said.

The more recent comments appear to move her positions closer to those of Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

GLENDALE, ARIZONA – AUGUST 23: Former Republican presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands during a campaign rally at Desert Diamond Arena on August 23, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona. Kennedy announced today that he was suspending his presidential campaign and supporting former President Trump. Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

Kennedy has been an ardent critic of vaccines for Covid and other diseases and was vehemently opposed to mask mandates.

In addition to being a Fox News contributor, Dr. Nesheiwat served as medical director for the clinic chain CityMD.

Her sister, Julia, is married to Trump’s pick for National Security Advisor Rep. Michael Waltz. Julia Nesheiwat is a current member of the Atlantic Council. She previously served on the World Economic Forum’s Global Advisory Council and was an international relations fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, according to her U.S. State Department biography. 

Kennedy Jr. has been critical of both the Atlantic Council and the Council on Foreign Relations. He said these organizations have significant influence on foreign policy, citing U.S. and NATO involvement in the war between Ukraine Russia as an example. He then took aim at advisory committees, saying they wield undue influence over U.S. public health policy.

“If you look at the people who sit on it, they’re all people who are profiting from, you know … not from making people healthier, but from making … from a sick country, a country that’s constantly at war and a country that is doing the opposite of what its ideals say it’s supposed to be doing,” Kennedy told comedian Andrew Schulz.

If confirmed, Nesheiwat will have an important role in the administration as the public-facing Surgeon General. However, she will still report to the assistant secretary for health, a role which Trump has yet to designate a candidate for. The role is currently occupied by Biden appointee Admiral Rachel Levine.