Trump's Ex-Surgeon General Admits He Couldn't Find a Job Due to ‘Trump Effect': "People Hate Him"

Jerome Adams, a former surgeon general in the Donald Trump administration, recently gave an honest interview with The Washington Post. He acknowledged that his four years spent in the former president's Cabinet left him in a desperate search for employment after his term came to an end.

Jerome and his wife, Lacey Adams frequently discuss what they call the "Trump Effect." They informed the outlet that they could feel it when Jerome applied for academic positions. He was politely rejected by university administrators who were concerned that appointing someone who had worked in the Trump administration would not be well received by their left-leaning student bodies. Jerome admitted that Trump is “a force that really does take the air out of the room.”

“It was a lot harder than he thought to find a landing spot because of the Trump Effect,” Lacey informed the outlet. After leaving his position, Jerome struggled to find employment for eight months. Finally, in September 2021, Jerome was hired by Purdue University President, Mitch Daniels, to serve as the institution's first executive director of health equality programs. Daniels is a former governor of Indiana and a steadfast Republican.

Jerome and Lacey had hoped it would all have calmed down as it has been two years since Jerome left office. But that did not seem to be the case as Trump declared last month that he would run for president once more. Even though neither of them has backed Trump's political effort, the stigma of Jerome's relationship with him still exists. “The Trump hangover is still impacting me in significant ways,” the anesthesiologist said. He also said that he believes the 2024 Trump campaign “will make things more difficult for me."

“People still are afraid to touch anything that is associated with Trump,” Jerome revealed. He quickly clarified in the interview, though, that he is "not complaining." He continued, "It is context." As per the outlet, Lacey declared that she "hated Trump" and did not want her husband to leave his comfortable life in Indiana. However, her husband persuaded her to back their move by stating he believed he could make a bigger difference inside the administration than outside of it, particularly when it came to his efforts to fight opioid addiction.

Jerome's frequent tweets have consistently prompted criticism from both the right and the left wing, over anything from his personal life to opinions on public health issues. “I get mad at him for being addicted to Twitter,” Lacey said. “People hated him because he was part of Trump’s administration. Now the Trump people hate him.” Little has changed Jerome's mind despite the backlash. He tries to find ways to make use of his platform as a former surgeon general without engaging in divisive political debates.