How Meidas Helped Nurses Stand Up to Trump and RFK

Written by Justin Gill

Hi, I’m Justin Gill, an urgent care nurse practitioner in Seattle, Washington, and a proud member of the Core Leadership Team for Nurses for America (NFA). I wanted to thank Ben Meiselas and the MeidasTouch Network for the opportunity to contribute to this Substack post.

I want to talk about something that has shaken the healthcare and nursing communities to their core: the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). I wanted to share with the Meidas Mighty how Ben Meiselas and the MeidasTouch Network helped our organization fight back!

On December 6th, I had the opportunity to join Ben Meiselas for an interview to discuss the Nurses for America statement opposing RFK Jr.’s nomination and our ongoing campaign to gather signatures. I reached out to Ben Meiselas on social media, not expecting he would actually get back to me. But within 30 minutes of my message, Ben called me right away and offered to help me and the nurses I represent however he could. Ben set up an interview with me to discuss the threats posed by Trump and RFK Jr. to nurses.

Since the interview was published, we have seen a significant surge in support thanks to MeidasTouch, with our signature count now exceeding 1,000.

After the video was posted by MeidasTouch, thousands of nurses and healthcare advocates shared their voices on social media and in the video’s comments section, highlighting the real-life impacts that these nominations would have on their work.

NFA leaders, like Donna Gaffney and Teri Mills, have published multiple op-eds and letters to the editor in The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, The Oregonian, and the Portland Press Herald. We are more motivated than ever, thanks to MeidasTouch having our back.

As nurses, we deal with the harmful consequences of misinformation regarding vaccines, science, and evidence-based recommendations. Our role as patient advocates requires us to speak up—not only when it’s convenient but when it’s necessary. Now is one of those critical moments. We must raise our voices to protect our patients and communities from harm.

As the most trusted profession, nurses remain steadfast in upholding their professional values and advocating for what is right.

We refuse to lead with fear—instead, we lead with courage.

We urge nurses and the public to join us in opposing RFK Jr.’s nomination by contacting their senators and sharing their personal stories.

Your voice can make a difference.

We urge everyone to sign our statement now and make their voices heard before it’s too late. (LINK)

Thanks to MeidasTouch and to all the MeidasTouch Substack subscribers. This community is the real deal!

Justin Gill, DNP, APRN, RN

Core Leadership Member

Nurses for America