Former President Donald Trump endorsed Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania’s Senate GOP primary.
Known for his “Dr. Oz Show,” which he shut down to focus on his campaign, the surgeon was not a shoo-in for the Trump nod. Oz’s Republican rival, hedge fund CEO David McCormick, also had Trump’s ear.
McCormick’s wife, Dina Powell, served as a deputy national security adviser to the former president.
But besides sharing television stardom with Trump, Oz was preferred by former first lady Melania Trump and onetime presidential adviser Sean Hannity of Fox News.
On Saturday, the celebrity welcomed the endorsement with a round of Trump-influenced proclamations, including that he will “defend America First policies,” will “drain the swamp of Washington insiders,” and will beat back “the radical policies of Joe Biden.”
As a number of GOP-led states have been developing bills that would make abortion difficult to carry out legally, Oz said, “l will be a powerful pro-life voice in the Senate.”
McCormick’s campaign responded to Trump’s endorsement by referring to a tweet from its general counsel, Jeff Roe, which says the executive “is going to be the next Senator from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.” open when Republican Pat Toomey decided not to seek re-election this year.
Perhaps because of his TV-propelled campaign, multiple other candidates have piled on against Oz, with little impact so far, except perhaps to narrow the field to the surgeon and the chief executive.CEO
Bridget Bowman contributed.
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