White House health adviser Calley Means sparked controversy by attributing rising childhood chronic illnesses to “demonic forces” during a radio interview, praising Trump and HHS Secretary Kennedy for combating what he called profit-driven exploitation of children’s health.
WASHINGTON — White House health adviser Calley Means made explosive claims Thursday, blaming “demonic forces” for America’s childhood chronic disease crisis during an appearance on the Steve Gruber Show. The Trump appointee asserted industries profit from sick children, declaring: “A child that is sick, depressed, and getting gender transition surgery is extremely profitable… That is evil.”
Means, appointed to Trump’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission in March, alleged corporations and government enable suffering through processed foods, technology addiction, and gender-affirming care. “Chronic disease is a powerful invention because the child doesn’t die, they just suffer,” he said, claiming this generates “profit paid for by our government.”
The adviser praised Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for confronting these “dark forces,” stating: “They have made health a voting issue so now kids have a lobbyist.” His comments follow Kennedy’s recent controversial autism remarks, which compared it to COVID-19’s impact.
Host Gruber echoed Means’ claims, criticizing corporate lobbying by food and pharmaceutical giants while “farmers and six-year-olds lack representation.”
The administration has not commented on Means’ supernatural assertions, though Trump’s February executive order creating the MAHA Commission pledged to combat “rising rates of mental health disorders, obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases.” Critics argue such rhetoric distracts from evidence-based policymaking.