President Donald Trump’s new nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Nicole Saphier, criticized a viral film financed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine nonprofit before he became the U.S. health secretary.
In her 2021 book, “Panic Attack: Playing Politics with Science in the Fight Against COVID-19,” Saphier celebrates vaccines and criticizes pseudoscience spread during the pandemic, specifically calling out “Plandemic,” the viral anti-vaccine film that made false claims about the origins of Covid, including that the virus had been spread intentionally by an elite pro-vaccine cabal. Saphier wrote that “Plandemic” was “a video full of hoax theories” and described Judy Mikovits, the star of the film, as a “disgraced former researcher.”
Kennedy funded and promoted “Plandemic” in 2020 while chair of the country’s largest anti-vaccine nonprofit, Children’s Health Defense.
“Plandemic, which we financed,” Kennedy said in a podcast clip posted to X in 2024, “was the most successful documentary in history. I think it’s 25 million views. Even though they threw us off all the social media, we were able to still get a lot of people to see that film. And we’re working every other angle, to make sure that we can continue to organize and to speak directly to the public.”
This is the second Trump health agency nominee in recent weeks whose pro-vaccine record puts them at odds with Kennedy. In April, some Make America Healthy Again allies raised concerns over Trump’s pro-vaccine pick for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director, Erica Schwartz, and suggested the administration may be distancing itself from Kennedy ahead of the midterms.
Saphier, a radiologist and longtime contributor to Fox News, stands in contrast to Dr. Casey Means, for whom Trump pulled his nomination Thursday. Means had been a MAHA fixture and ally of Kennedy’s that some members of congress argued during contentious nomination hearings, was unqualified for the surgeon general position. Saphier’s position as a respected member of the medical establishment, a Fox News-approved conservative who has publicly fought against vaccine skepticism, and a critic of Kennedy’s work, put her at odds with her new would-be boss. Saphier did not respond to a request for comment.
Saphier’s criticism of Mikovits ricochets to Kennedy in other ways, too. Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit led by Kennedy until he stepped down in 2024, also published the book on which “Plandemic” was based, Mikovits’ “Plague of Corruption.” In it, she argues without evidence that vaccines and medical testing cause autism, chronic fatigue syndrome and other chronic diseases — and that corrupt pharmaceutical companies and government health agencies are hiding these truths. Mikovits’ claims have been well debunked.
In addition to publishing “Plague of Corruption,” Kennedy wrote its 34-page foreword, which lays out an overarching conspiracy theory of a population made sick by corrupt elites who capture government agencies to silence noble contrarians like Mikovits. Mikovits’ career has been marred by controversy. Her work has been retracted from scientific journals, she was fired in 2011 from the Nevada research institute she led, arrested on accusations of stealing company property (the charges were later dropped) and sued by her former employer for the alleged theft. In the forward for her book, Kennedy calls her a “courageous scientist.” Social media platforms including Facebook and YouTube removed “Plandemic” in 2020, citing policies against misinformation.
After Trump announced his pick this week, Kennedy called Saphier “a long-time warrior for the MAHA movement” on X and wrote that he looked forward to partnering with her. An HHS spokesperson declined to comment on Saphier’s past remarks about Kennedy and his anti-vaccine work.
Saphier has been a frequent guest on conservative television and podcasts. In most of her appearances, she has praised Trump and acted as a kind of science whisperer for conservatives with whom vaccines have become less popular in recent years.
Following Trump’s announcement, Kennedy’s anti-vaccine supporters mourned the pulling of Means on social media and largely criticized Saphier as a kind of pro-vaccine shill for pharmaceutical companies.
In dozens of media appearances reviewed by MS NOW, Saphier directly disputed the kind of misinformation Kennedy and Children’s Health Defense promoted, often placing blame for the rise in conspiracy theories and distrust at the feet of the Biden administration for what she considers government overreach and miscommunication during Covid. Mary Holland, the current CEO of Children’s Health Defense, called Saphier “a safe choice for confirmation.”
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During Covid, Saphier disputed claims about so-called natural immunity.
“There have been no major events reported with these vaccines, which means zero people have gotten severe illness who have received the vaccine and zero people have died,” Saphier said on the Brian Kilmeade Show in November 2020. “We cannot say the same regarding COVID-19.”
At the same time, Saphier, a mother of three, spoke about what she believed to be governmental overuse of lockdowns, remote learning and preventative measures for children generally, including vaccine recommendations, in response to the pandemic.
“At some point, people are going to have to be held accountable for these actions because they are nothing but anti-science,” she said on the The Eric Metaxas Show in 2021.
During the second Trump administration, Saphier has offered a fairly tepid backing of Kennedy and his leadership at HHS. In 2020, she told Brian Kilmeade that Kennedy’s nomination to HHS Secretary wasn’t outlandish, but she’d prefer him in an adviser role.
“In a time where we already have a lot of hesitation when it comes to our public health, to bring someone in like RFK Jr. who has been historically controversial, that’s probably going to widen the divide,” Saphier said.
More recently, Saphier has praised Kennedy’s federal fitness challenges. In August, she responded to changes in the childhood vaccine schedule with support for “parental choice.”
The Washington Post reported that Saphier’s X account, which has been made private, contained other criticisms of Kennedy, including that members of his appointed inner circle stood to profit from federal MAHA policies and programs.
Brandy Zadrozny is a senior enterprise reporter for MS NOW. She was a previously a senior enterprise reporter for NBC News, based in New York.