Donald Trump allegedly faced interference from his own White House staff, according to former Health and Human Services adviser Calley Means.
Means accused senior administration officials of withholding information from the president and presenting their own policy preferences as Trump’s decisions.
Calley Means alleges White House staffers controlled information reaching the president
During a Sunday appearance on CBS News’s Face the Nation, Means raised concerns about how White House officials handled policy decisions.
Means previously served as a senior adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. before resigning in October. He claimed that senior White House aides had exploited Trump’s busy schedule.
“I think [Trump] had severe poor advice from people, I think, who treated him like a baby in many respects and used him,” Means told host Margaret Brennan.
He further alleged that staffers routinely blocked access to Trump and withheld information from him.
Means suggested that officials sometimes used Trump’s brief responses to policy discussions as authorization to advance their own agendas.
Means also criticized the administration’s handling of Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again initiative.
He alleged that former White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and her associates prioritized industry interests, including those of flavored e-cigarette companies, over the initiative’s goals.
Means claimed that officials presented these proposals as Trump’s priorities, even though he believed they conflicted with the administration’s health agenda.
Means had previously made similar allegations during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience.
He accused Wiles of obstructing a food policy initiative because of concerns about political contributions from the sugar industry.
However, Trump political adviser James Blair disputed those accusations in a statement to The Washington Post.
According to The Hill, Blair rejected the corruption allegations and said he had no role in fundraising.
The controversy also raised questions about Means’s opposition to Wiles.
During the CBS interview, Brennan asked whether Means had wanted Wiles removed from her position before his departure.
Means confirmed that he had wanted Wiles removed and praised Stephen Miller, who replaced her as White House chief of staff.
He expressed confidence that Miller could work with Kennedy and Trump on health policy reforms.
Means also suggested that the administration could pursue health policy goals shared by Democrats, including Elizabeth Warren and Abdul El-Sayed.
Despite criticizing Trump’s former advisers, Means maintained that the president supported efforts to improve children’s health.
His accusations centered on the officials he believed had obstructed that agenda rather than on Trump’s stated policy goals.
