By observing Donald Trump’s appointments to important government positions, we begin to understand how he managed to put a bankrupt casino. Of all his bizarre appointments, I find those in the health sector particularly disturbing.
He chose Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health, even though he has a long history of spreading misinformation and dangerous ideas conspiracists. For around twenty years, he has been a leading figure in the anti-vaccine movement; he also claimed that worms ate part of his brain, leading to long-lasting “brain fog.” He claims that exposure to chemicals, “endocrine disruptors”, causes gender dysphoria in children, contributing to the increase in the number of LGBTQ+ youth; he claims Wi-Fi radiation causes cancer; he links US school shootings to increased prescribing of antidepressants; he insists that AIDS is caused by recreational drugs consumed by homosexuals; he denies the benefit of water fluoridation and plans to put an end to it in the United States. So many wild opinions, never demonstrated by any scientific proof.
Two other Trump appointments in the medical field are worth noting: Dr. Janette Nesheiwat was chosen as “surgeon general.” She sells her own food supplements and, during the pandemic, she has warned against wearing masks, believing they expose people to toxins. The professor of health policy and economist, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya – known for his criticism of Covid-19 lockdowns – is nominated to become the new director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). “Together, Jay and RFK Jr. will restore the NIH to its status as a benchmark for medical research,” said Donald Trump. “Together, they will work hard to make America healthy again!”
General disbelief
The most worrying appointment is undoubtedly that of Dr Mehmet Ozwho will lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS oversees some of the largest medical programs in the United States, providing health coverage to more than 150 million Americans, regulating health insurance and setting policy that determines prices paid to doctors, hospitals and to pharmaceutical companies for medical services. Given that Oz once said that uninsured people “do not have the right to health“, his appointment can only be described as cynical.
About 20 years ago, I briefly met Dr. Oz at a conference. I can honestly say that I have rarely encountered someone who, in my opinion, exuded so much charlatanism. His appointment was met with widespread disbelief, not least because of Mr. Oz’s long history of irresponsibly promoting the worst forms of so-called alternative medicine on his popular American television show, the Dr. Oz Show, disseminated from 2009 to 2022. An analysis of the recommendations issued as part of the Dr. Oz Show found that only 46% were supported by minimal evidence, 15% were contradicted by data, and 39% were not supported by any evidence. Researchers also found that Oz almost never addressed conflicts of interest in his show.
In 2015, a group of ten prominent American doctors were so shocked by his comments that they asked his employer, Columbia University, to remove him from the faculty for his “disregard for science and medicine.” evidence-based”. The university defended Mehmet Oz, saying it was “committed to the principle of academic freedom and respect for the freedom of expression of faculty members.”
But why does Mehmet Oz, who has dual American and Turkish nationality, and who even served in the Turkish army to maintain his Turkish citizenship, do all these stupid things? After all, he had a brilliant career as a top surgeon. He is very rich and probably does not need this money. I think part of the answer lies elsewhere.
Married to a reiki master
For around forty years, Mehmet has been married to Lisa, who is a Reiki master. She fully embraces this form of treatment, stating that “the next wave of medical advances will occur when we recognize the body as an energy system.” Lisa has obviously made her husband a reiki enthusiast, so much so that he said on her show that “reiki is the ultimate alternative medicine.” Oz even received the “Pigasus Award” from the James Randi Educational Foundation in 2009, an annual prize awarded with humor to denounce fraud in the health field, for his tireless promotion of reiki.
Reiki is a form of paranormal or energy healing popularized by the Japanese Mikao Usui (1865-1926). Rei means universal spirit (sometimes considered a supreme being) and ki is the supposed universal life energy. The treatment is based on the hypotheses of traditional Chinese medicine and the existence of “chi”, the vital force that determines our health. Reiki practitioners believe they can transmit “healing energy” to a patient, which would then stimulate the body’s self-healing properties. They assume that the therapeutic effects of this technique come from a “universal vital energy” which brings strength, harmony and balance to the body and mind. These notions have no scientific basis and reiki is therefore not not scientifically plausible.
Reiki is used for a wide range of conditions, including relieving stress, tension and pain. Several clinical trials have been carried out to test the effectiveness of this treatment. Unfortunately, their methodological quality is generally poor. A systematic review summarizing this data concluded that “the evidence is insufficient to suggest that reiki is an effective treatment for any condition.” Therefore, the value of reiki has not been proven” and a Cochrane review (these are generally the most independent and reliable summaries) concluded that “there is insufficient evidence to say whether reiki is useful or no for people over the age of 16 with anxiety or depression, or both.”
With Robert Kennedy, Janette Nesheiwat and Mehmet Oz poised to take over America’s health care, there is cause for concern not only for the health of our American friends, but also for progress and rationality in general. This strangely reminds me of a bon mot often wrongly attributed to Voltaire: “Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” If this quote is in reality a bad translation of the text of your famous thinker, it has never seemed more relevant.
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