President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Surgeon General, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, was linked in a tragic accident at the age of 13 that resulted in her father’s death.
Last month, Trump announced that Dr. Janette Nesheiwat will be the “Nation’s Doctor” as the United States Surgeon General.
“Dr. Nesheiwat is a fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventive medicine and public health. She is committed to ensuring that Americans have access to affordable, quality healthcare, and believes in empowering individuals to take charge of their health to live longer, healthier lives,” Trump said in a statement.
Dr. Nesheiwat has become a prominent figure in medicine, serving as a medical director for CityMD and contributing to Fox News.
Her nomination has sparked discussions for her strong endorsement of COVID-19 vaccinations, masking protocols, and her praise of social media platforms censoring vaccine skeptics during the height of the pandemic.
At the time, she referred to these measures as “necessary tools to protect public health.” However, her enthusiastic support for such policies alienated a significant portion of Trump’s conservative base, who viewed them as government overreach and an infringement on personal liberties.
Nesheiwat has attempted to rehabilitate her image among conservatives, criticizing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for its botched vaccine rollout and for imposing mandates that disproportionately impacted children.
She acknowledged missteps in her earlier stances, stating, “As more data came in, it became clear that some policies were not in the best interest of all Americans, particularly our children.”
For many, these revisions are too little, too late. Critics argue that Nesheiwat’s initial support for these measures reveals a lack of judgment and raises questions about her suitability for a role requiring unwavering commitment to individual freedoms and medical ethics.
Read more:
Trump’s Controversial Surgeon General Pick Faces Backlash Over Past Vaccine, Double Masking, and Social Media Censorship Comments
Now, a traumatic incident from Nesheiwat’s youth has resurfaced.
At just 13 years old, Nesheiwat accidentally shot and killed her father in their Orlando home, according to a report by the far-left New York Times.
The 1990 incident, described in a police report, was ruled an accidental shooting. According to the report, the young Nesheiwat was searching for scissors in her father’s bedroom when she accidentally tipped over a fishing tackle box, causing a loaded .38-caliber handgun to discharge.
The bullet struck her sleeping father, Ziad “Ben” Nesheiwat, in the head, and he died the next day.
“Something fell out of it and there was a loud noise,” she recounted to the police. “I saw blood on my father’s ear.” On the floor was a .380 caliber handgun that had fallen with the tackle box and discharged. The girl’s father had been shot through the head. The local newspaper said the police believed it was a “freak accident,”” New York Times reported.
The news outlet added:
A police report obtained by The New York Times contains the account that 13-year-old Janette gave an officer who responded to a 911 call. “I was in Father’s bedroom at about 7:15 a.m. getting some scissors,” she said, according to the incident report. “I opened the fishing tackle box and the whole thing tipped over.”
Before calling 911, she added, she went to the bathroom to get a towel and then ice, which she put on her father’s head.
When the police arrived, they found the dying man, Ziad “Ben” Nesheiwat, lying on top of the sheets, his head surrounded by pillows, and his arms crossed over his chest, right over left. One police officer who responded to the scene described the case in his report as an “accidental shooting.”
This event profoundly impacted Nesheiwat, inspiring her to pursue a career in medicine. In her 2017 memoir, “Beyond the Stethoscope,” she describes the loss of her father as a formative experience but does not mention her involvement in the accident.
“When I was 13 years old, I helplessly watched my dear father dying from an accident as blood was spurting everywhere,” she wrote on her memoir. “I couldn’t save his life.”
“This was the start of my personal journey in life to become a physician and enter the world of healing arts,” she added.
