Chris Hayes Says Health News in the Trump Era ‘Feels Like a Dark Joke’ After New Surgeon General Pick | Video

Chris Hayes reacted to the news that Donald Trump has selected “wellness” influencer Casey Means, a close ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as his new Surgeon General, with unsurprising bleakness.

“It feels like every single day without fail, there’s some new headline about the nation’s health infrastructure that feels like a dark joke. From the largest measles outbreak since eradication, to nearly $2 billion in research grants being canceled. And the latest is this one: Donald Trump taps wellness influencer, close to RFK Jr for Surgeon General,” Hayes said.

“Her name is Dr. Casey. Means, though she is not a licensed medical doctor, she is an online holistic wellness influencer, which means she goes on a lot of shows touting her health advice,” He continued, at which point he ran clips of various TV appearances, including a “Real Time” appearance where she shared anti-vaccines views.

Hayes then brought on Kathleen Sebelius, the former Kansa governor who served as Secretary of Health and Human Services — Kennedy’s current job — under Barack Obama, to discuss.

At one point, Hayes asked, “Some of what she’s saying, like, we, you know, have chronic disease in this country because we use too much sugar, is kind of non controversial. But then it seems like there’s a fair amount of woo-woo nonsense in there. And she’s also not a licensed, you know, physician, and her views on vaccines make me very nervous. And I guess I wonder, like, how, how bad is it?”

“Well, it can be really bad,” Sebelius replied.

“There’s no question what I’ve seen this woman say, is she’s an antivaxxer. That’s terrifying. That is a terrifying position for the Secretary to hold,” Sebelius said shortly after. “It’s a terrifying position for the Surgeon General, and it will confuse and potentially kill people in this country if parents really aren’t sure of the advice they’re given. Go after processed foods. Go after salt and sugar and food, talk to your colleague in the Ag department to take on the food industry and to you know, make sure that people can have fewer antibiotics in the meat that they eat. Those are all things that could make us healthier… but, boy, you mix that with lots of false information and making up stuff and pushing supplements that have no proven value, and then you have a real mess on your hands.”

You can watch the full conversation below:

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