Opinion: Trump’s surgeon general pick proves it: DEI now means ‘didn’t earn it’

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of guest commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

•••

My grandmother and mother didn’t just raise me, they prepared me. From them, I learned the quiet truth every Black woman carries: that in America, showing up is never just about showing up. You enter every room knowing you’ll have to be twice as good to earn half the credit. That your competence will be questioned before you speak. That excellence is your entry fee, and still, it might not be enough.

That’s the reality I’ve grown up with. So what does it say to my generation, to all of us, when President Donald Trump nominates someone who doesn’t even hold an active medical license to be the surgeon general of the United States?

Dr. Casey Means never finished her residency. She’s not practicing medicine. She’s best known for cowriting a wellness book, selling glucose-tracking subscriptions and blogging about full-moon rituals and tree conversations. Her podcast appearances are filled with vaccine skepticism, and her blog posts promote spiritual ceremonies over science.

And yet, this is who Trump and his Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., believe should become the country’s top medical voice.

Black women could only dream of being so fortunate, to walk away from clinical practice, renounce scientific rigor and still be celebrated as a national health leader.

In a country where Black women and other professionals of color are constantly asked to overperform just to be seen as competent, this nomination doesn’t just ignore qualifications, it mocks the very idea of them.

This is the same political movement that has spent years vilifying diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. They told us DEI lowered the bar. That it gave unfair advantages. That it rewarded identity over ability. But with this nomination, Trump has made it plain: DEI was never the problem. Meritocracy was never the goal.

In his world, DEI now means didn’t earn it.

As a Gen-Z Black woman, I was raised in an era shaped by contradiction. We’re told to chase opportunity, but punished for taking up space. We’re told to believe in systems, even as we watch them bend for the powerful and break for the rest of us. We’ve been tested by pandemics, disinformation, rising debt and rising temperatures. And now, we’re being asked to believe that a wellness influencer with expired credentials is fit to guide national public health?

The surgeon general isn’t a ceremonial role. It’s a critical voice in times of crisis. It’s the name on health warnings, the presence in schools and communities, the calm in the storm. It requires experience, clarity and credibility — none of which Means brings to the table.

Let’s not pretend this is an accident. It’s a political performance. One where science takes a back seat to spectacle, and where loyalty to Trump-world conspiracy culture matters more than service to the American people. In Means, Trump and Kennedy have found someone who won’t challenge the narrative. She’ll just amplify it.

But what this moment also reveals is deeper than one appointment; it’s about who gets grace and who never gets a chance. It’s about who can fail upward and who is disqualified before they begin.

Gen Z isn’t just watching, we’re taking notes. We’ve grown up in the contradictions: told to trust institutions, while watching those same institutions reward connections over competence, performance over principle. We’re not fooled by polished talking points or curated resumes. We see clearly who gets the benefit of the doubt and who must prove their worth again and again, even after it’s already been earned.

This nomination should unsettle anyone who still believes public service is rooted in merit, integrity and accountability. It’s not just an unqualified pick; it’s a symptom of a system that protects power by pretending it doesn’t play favorites. And the hypocrisy is not subtle — it’s written in the executive orders.

Just months ago, Trump signed an order titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” In it, he claimed that “illegal DEI and DEIA policies … undermine our national unity” and “threaten the safety of American men, women, and children across the Nation by diminishing the importance of individual merit, aptitude, hard work, and determination when selecting people for jobs and services in key sectors of American society, including all levels of government, and the medical, aviation, and law-enforcement communities.”

But here we are just a little over 100 days into Trump part two, watching a nominee be elevated not for excellence, but for ideology. Not for her medical service, but for her allegiance to anti-science talking points and political theatrics.

This was never about restoring merit. It was about redefining it to protect those already in power.

Because this has never just been a debate over qualifications — it’s always been a fight over access. Over who is expected to earn their place and who is simply handed it.

Haley Taylor Schlitz is an attorney, writer and former public school teacher based in St. Paul.