Cardiothoracic surgeon turned controversial television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz stunned
the world on November 30th when he announced his run for United States Senate in Pennsylvania.
In an op-ed for the Washington Examiner, Oz wrote:
"During the pandemic, I learned that when you mix politics and medicine, you get politics
instead of solutions.
That's why I am running for the U.S. Senate: to help fix the problems and to help us heal."
Unfortunately, Dr. Oz is no stranger to controversy, having publicly voiced opinions like this:
"I just saw a nice piece in The Lancet arguing that the opening of schools may only cost
us just 2-3% in terms of total mortality."
"It might be a trade-off some folks would consider."
Following this particular claim, a swift backlash led Oz to promptly walk back his comments,
issuing a tweet that claimed he had "misspoke."
It's also likely that his new political aspirations could spell big trouble for legendary talk
show host and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey.
Winfrey has often been credited for giving Dr. Mehmet Oz his own platform — a charge
even Oz himself admits.
In his Washington Examiner piece, he wrote:
"I invented life-saving devices, trained young surgeons to save lives, and expected my days
to be measured by countless people helped.
[...] I started changing this reality by leaving the safety of my medical practice to become
the health expert on The Oprah Winfrey Show and, ultimately, the host of my own TV program."
Winfrey featured Oz on her show over sixty times before giving him the keys to his own
project, The Dr. Oz Show.
But that's not all — she also featured him on the highly coveted list of Oprah's All-Stars,
among the ranks of fellows such as clinical psychologist Dr. Phil and financier Suze Orman.
Soon after, Oz became known far and wide for his famous albeit sometimes controversial
medical advice.
Time will only tell whether or not Oz will actually snag a seat in the Senate, but should
Oz take home a win in the 2022 Pennsylvania Senate race, Winfrey might have some serious
explaining to do.
And while it certainly remains to be seen whether or not Oprah Winfrey will endorse
Dr. Mehmet Oz's bid for Senate, it doesn't seem all that likely.
Indeed, Winfrey often rides hard for her chosen candidates, but they're invariably liberal.
For example, in the 2008 presidential election, she endorsed Barack Obama.
According to economists Craig Garthwaite and Timothy Moore, Oprah's public allegiance to
the then-candidate afforded him an estimated 1,000,000 additional votes, arguably winning
him the election.
Meanwhile, Professor Joel Aberbach told the Los Angeles Times:
"This is like being endorsed by Walter Cronkite."
Harvard University professor Matthew Baum adds:
"If I had to pick a nonpolitical character to endorse me, it's hard for me to think of
anyone I would rather have on my side.
It's not just star power.
What she has is an enormous reservoir of credibility and trust with [...] exactly the people Obama
needs to reach out to."
Still, some of Oprah's fans weren't too thrilled with her political endorsement of Obama.
Winfrey first announced her unwavering support for the future president in May 2007 during
an appearance on CNN's Larry King Live.
She famously told Larry King:
"I think that my value to him, my support of him, is probably worth more than any check."
Shortly after her grand public endorsement, however, Winfrey's popularity with the nation
took a serious nosedive.
The reason for Oprah's waning popularity was clear: many of her female supporters took
major issue with the talk show host pledging allegiance to a man when there was a female
still in the running — namely, Hillary Clinton.
Nevertheless, Oprah soldiered on.
In a statement to ABC News, she said:
"I thought long and hard before stepping up and out into this because it feels like I
am stepping out of my pew and I know that no matter what you do, you're going to be
criticized.
[...] I made the decision that I have the right to do it as an American citizen and
I am doing this because I feel it is the right thing to do at this time."
Still, Oprah being Oprah, it's probably fair to say that she's able to take the heat…
and then some.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Nicki Swift videos about your favorite celebs are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.