Trump’s aides treated him ‘like a baby,’ former White House official says

A former White House aide has accused senior advisers to US President Donald Trump of undermining his policy agenda by prioritising political fundraising over initiatives championed by the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, Washington Post reports.

Calley Means, who served as an aide to Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. and worked at the White House before resigning last month, made the allegations during an interview with CBS News's Face the Nation on Sunday.

“I think he had severe poor advice from people, I think, who treated him like a baby in many respects and used him,” Means said, referring to Trump.

He alleged that senior White House officials and political strategists had prioritised securing donations from major industries ahead of the midterm elections at the expense of policies aimed at improving public health.

Means specifically criticised former White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, accusing her of exercising excessive control over policy decisions and obstructing initiatives supported by the MAHA movement.

Speaking on Joe Rogan's podcast in an episode released Friday, Means alleged that Wiles had blocked a Department of Health and Human Services initiative concerning food policy because of concerns that it could affect political donations from the sugar industry.

He also raised concerns about the influence of the food, pharmaceutical and pesticide industries on government policymaking, suggesting that much of this had happened without Trump's full knowledge.

“The issues that came from Susie's world were not healthy food, were not cleaning up pesticides, were not these core issues that Bobby Kennedy ran on,” Means said.

Means's remarks have triggered a dispute between supporters of the MAHA movement and senior figures in Trump's political team.

James Blair, Trump's top political adviser, rejected allegations of improper influence, saying he had no significant role in fundraising or knowledge of donor arrangements.

“The implication of corruption towards me and all the others referenced by Calley is scurrilous, false, and defamatory,” Blair said in a statement.

Trump's chief pollster Tony Fabrizio, who was also named by Means, rejected claims that he was influenced by pharmaceutical companies. He said his firm's research had supported measures targeting pharmaceutical industry practices, including lower prescription drug prices.

Meanwhile, Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said in a Fox News interview on Saturday that Means had described corruption within government, including the Trump administration, in considerable detail. Johnson added that such practices had persisted across administrations for decades.

The controversy comes amid a broader political reassessment within the Republican Party following Democrats' major gains in the November midterm elections. Democrats have signalled plans to investigate alleged corruption involving Trump, his administration, family members and corporate allies.

The White House has defended its record on the MAHA agenda. Spokeswoman Allison Schuster previously said the movement had found a strong champion in Trump, pointing to what she described as significant progress under his administration.

The MAHA movement emerged from the 2024 political alliance between Trump and Kennedy. Its supporters advocate healthier food, changes to vaccine policies and reduced pesticide use.

On Friday, Trump announced that Wiles would be replaced as White House chief of staff by longtime adviser Stephen Miller. Wiles submitted her resignation to Trump on Thursday night, according to The Washington Post.

Means welcomed Miller's appointment, arguing that he would support structural policy changes alongside Kennedy and Trump.

He also criticised Heidi Overton, Trump's nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), describing her as a major obstacle to MAHA initiatives involving food policy and psychedelics.

However, White House spokesman Kush Desai has previously defended Overton, saying she had helped deliver nearly all of the administration's major MAHA policy achievements.

Means said he had fully divested from the company he founded when he took a full-time government position last year, doing so against his own financial interests. His financial interests had also drawn questions from Democrats.

Some of Means's allegations could not immediately be independently verified, according to The Washington Post. Kennedy, meanwhile, expressed gratitude to Wiles for her leadership in a social media post on Friday.