Donald Trump’s nominee for Surgeon General is facing backlash from some of his fiercest MAGA supporters for backing some strict COVID restrictions and masking mandates.
Past videos of Fox News contributor Dr. Janette Nesheiwat’s views on the COVID pandemic have recently resurfaced sparking outrage.
The controversy comes as Trump’s pick for Drug Enforcement Administrator, Florida Sheriff Chad Chronister, withdrew his name from consideration on Tuesday.
And former Rep. Matt Gaetz stunningly exited from attorney general consideration after being plagued by several graphic sex scandals and a House Ethics investigation.
Now, Trump’s Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth is struggling to get support after questions about his drinking habits and past sexual exploits are coming to light.
Nesheiwat, a medical director for CityMD in New York, frequently spoke about the coronavirus pandemic to offer her advice about how citizens should behave.
Trump supporters posted a resurfaced video on social media of Nesheiwat participating in the TikTok trend of dancing nurses trying to inform the public about how to protect themselves during the pandemic in 2020.
‘Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, nominee for Surgeon General, was involved in the dumb TikTok trend that emerged during the Covid pandemic,’ wrote MAGA supporter and grassroots organizer for Trump Scarlett Johnson. ‘This trend featured doctors & nurses performing annoying dance routines while telling us to mask up and “shelter in place.”‘
Other videos of Nesheiwat’s advice on Fox News raised questions about her medical expertise, as more Americans started questioning the validity of the coronavirus pandemic recommendations.
Dr Janette Nesheiwat is facing backlash from MAGA supporters for endorsing masks and vaccinating children during the coronavirus pandemic
‘I don’t get this pick at all,’ Wexler said. ‘At all. … This is not MAGA. This woman, I need someone to explain what is happening here’
Other videos showed Nesheiwat encouraging Americans to get their COVID-19 vaccination, repeating that it was a ‘safe and effective’ vaccine
‘Dr. Janette Nesheiwat supported masking kids in school. DEALBREAKER,’ wrote podcast host Liz Wheeler on social media when the pick was announced.
Wheeler’s video showed Nesheiwat endorsing mask mandates for children to fight the Delta variant of the virus and to get them back in schools.
MAGA activists and Republican Thomas Massie successfully pressured Trump’s DEA pick Chad Chronister for ordering the arrest of a pastor for holding services during the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020.
‘Next time politicians lose their ever-lovin minds, he can redeem himself by following the Constitution,’ Massie wrote on X on Tuesday.
It remains to be seen if Nesheiwat can survive the same pressure as MAGA targets her next.
Another video making the rounds on social media featured Nesheiwat praising Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg for censoring and banning so-called ‘misinformation’ about vaccines on Facebook and Instagram.
‘Vaccines save lives and I am so excited and I thank and commend Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg for taking action because this affects everyone,’ she said during a Fox Business panel on the issue.
Nesheiwat signaled her support for other social media platforms to follow Zuckerberg’s example and also censor vaccine skeptics.
Other videos showed Nesheiwat encouraging Americans to get their COVID-19 vaccination, repeating that it was a ‘safe and effective’ vaccine.
MAGA podcasters Emily Wilson and Arynne Wexler of the show UnFollowed also voiced their disappointment with the choice.
‘I don’t get this pick at all,’ Wexler said. ‘At all. … This is not MAGA. This woman, I need someone to explain what is happening here.’
MAGA podcasters Emily Wilson and Arynne Wexler of the show UnFollowed also voiced their disappointment with the choice
‘I don’t know where this came from. I’ve never heard of this woman,’ Wilson said. ‘The fact that she’s a pro-covid person, I could not think of a worst person.’
Nesheiwat also promoted the idea of making sure children were getting their COVID-19 vaccines.
‘I think this is important,’ she said on Fox News, warning of schoolchildren contracting and spreading the disease.
‘Generally speaking the risk of severe complications, the risk of death of children is extremely low but they can still get sick, they can still spread the infection they can still die of COVID.
It appears that Nesheiwat grew more skeptical about federal government guidance on vaccines during the coronavirus pandemic.
She criticized the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for profiting off unnecessary vaccines for kids in 2022.
‘There’s no good reason to have a vaccine that can’t stop disease, can’t stop transmission on the scheduled vaccination,’ she said during an appearance on then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s show.
The Surgeon General is a position that requires Senate confirmation, so her past advice could present a problem for her confirmation hearings.
However, Nesheiwat has seemed to change her tune in recent years.
Nesheiwat also featured a video of her instructing people about the proper way to wear a mask and even endorsing ‘double masking’ to make sure people were safe.
‘She is a horrible pick, I pray this does not go through and I will continue to attack her if she does get pushed through and you know why would he do this? She is the swamp!’ Wexler said.
‘She’s like clearly a leftist and should be f***ing reconsidered,’ Wilson said, calling it the ‘most upsetting thing I’ve seen’ from Team Trump since he won the election.
Others were more angry, sharing videos of Nesheiwat endorsing the concept of wearing masks outdoors and when around people.
‘More leftist lunacy from Trump’s Surgeon General pick, Janette Nesheiwat, who promoted masking children. He needs to rescind this nomination,’ wrote Don Keith, the host of the show ‘The Real Beef With Don Keith’ wrote on X.
Nesheiwat’s sister, Julia Nesheiwat is now married to U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) who was picked by Trump as a national security advisor.
It remains to be seen if Nesheiwat can survive the same pressure as MAGA targets her next
But her Fox News segments that started going viral on social media had MAGA supporters in an uproar.
‘Even if she’s now changed her mind on these medically and scientifically bad ideas, the fact that she openly supported all of them to the lay public demonstrates a level of incompetence or corruption that should NEVER be rewarded,’ wrote Dr. Dan Levy on X.
The Trump transition team has responded to concerns from MAGA activists and members of Congress for some of their potential nominees.
