CNN just couldn’t help itself. After President Trump’s White House physician downplayed his recent chronic venous insufficiency diagnosis as minor and manageable, the network rushed to paint it as a looming medical emergency. And to do that, they found just the “expert” for the job: Dr. Chris Pernell—a diversity activist, not a practicing doctor.

Pernell, who holds an M.D. from Duke but hasn’t practiced since her residency, has built her career in public health administration and equity consulting, not clinical medicine. Yet CNN rolled her out to offer ominous warnings about Trump’s condition, complete with textbook doom-and-gloom speculation about ulcers and blood clots. Anyone with a WebMD tab could’ve done the same.

But Pernell didn’t stop at medical commentary. Her past reveals a long history of anti-Trump rhetoric. She once equated vaccine-hesitant Americans with white supremacists, called Trump the “antichrist” through her church affiliations, and admitted to facing multiple compliance investigations at her former hospital due to her political outbursts. Her DEI crusading included launching Newark University Hospital’s “equity and inclusion strategy” and mandating bias training—exactly the kind of progressive institutional rot Americans are growing sick of.

So why would CNN pick someone like her to comment on Trump’s health? Not because she’s credible—but because she’ll say exactly what they want to hear. Pernell’s warnings had nothing to do with objective health risk and everything to do with smearing Trump’s image, just as he builds momentum heading into the heart of campaign season.

More laughable is how this “doctor” ignored basic ethics. No responsible physician offers a remote diagnosis of someone they’ve never treated—especially not on national TV. But ethics aren’t the goal here. The goal is fearmongering.

The real experts—the ones who actually examine Trump—report that he’s fine. The former president remains active, energetic, and focused on the job ahead. No surprise to anyone watching him dominate the political landscape while legacy media stumbles over its own narratives.

CNN’s performance here says more about them than about Trump. It’s not journalism. It’s theater—with DEI consultants dressed up as doctors playing the role of medical authorities. Americans deserve better. And they’re waking up to just how shallow the media’s playbook really is.