The Trump administration has tapped rapper Nicki Minaj to serve as one of the celebrity judges for the Small Business Administration’s Million Dollar Pitch Competition. Minaj will join entrepreneur and real estate investor Grant Cardone, Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, and actor Dean Cain, who will host the competition’s Sept. 18 finale in…
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Trump names pastor as tobacco health adviser as Nicki Minaj joins Shark Tank for White House
You could say the White House is diversifying its talent pool: one pastor for tobacco policy, one pop star for entrepreneurial advice. The receipts don’t mention their medical or business backgrounds, but that’s not the filter the administration is using. What matters is visibility—both figures have followings, and both are being handed platforms that used to go to seasoned experts. The pastor at CDC is not a medical doctor; Nicki Minaj is not a business tycoon. But the appointment reads like a casting call for the new American reality: policy decisions as televised competitions, and health advice as Sunday sermons. The administration’s message seems to be: if you can draw a crowd or trend online, you can steer federal policy. The stakes for public health are real, but the process has become performance. The audience may be bigger, but the expertise is thinner. It’s a new era, and your doctor’s office may soon look like a stage. If you want to see who’s making the call on your healthcare, check the guest list, not the credentials. The rest of the column examines the implications—who gets left out, who gets the microphone, and how much of the advice is actually evidence-based. Page 2 looks at the CDC’s prior advisers and what happens next for the agency.
“So they got a preacher telling you about cigarettes and Nicki Minaj picking winners for the president. That's not a health plan, that's a game show with a sermon. Your doctor just got replaced by a reality TV judge.”
“The president simply believes that unconventional expertise brings fresh perspectives to health policy. If Nicki Minaj is involved, it's about outreach, not medical advice. Did I say outreach? I meant entertainment. Either way, the CDC's new direction is very clear—wait, is it?”
The receipts
President Trump on Tuesday announced the selection of Darrell Scott, a pastor and longtime Trump supporter, to be the tobacco health adviser for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Trump announced Scott's new role in a Truth Social post, citing his longtime advocacy for "America’s Underserved Communities." "For far too…
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.