Donald Trump held a rally in North Carolina on Saturday night, but it wasn’t the normal theatrics and hilarity that the former president delivers that made the biggest impression. Rather, it was an endorsement that seems to have come out of nowhere, and I’ll go so far as to say it may be his worst ever (yes, worse than Morgan Ortega) — at least as a Republican politician.
Honestly, I know some people take umbrage with anyone ever questioning Trump’s decision-making, but this is truly a head-scratching moment.
Trump supports Dr. Oz during the Pennsylvania Senate Primary despite many Trump alums preferring David McCormick pic.twitter.com/cMeU5tMeZS
— Blake Hounshell (@blakehounshell) April 9, 2022
Trump on Oz Endorsement: When you’re in television for 18 years. That’s like a poll. It means you are not the only one. pic.twitter.com/Te5aCTTlQE
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 10, 2022
I’m not sure offering endorsements to people based on them being on TV for a long time is the best strategy. Whoopi Goldberg is a veteran TV personality. John Stewart was always on television. Popularity alone does not make you a good politician. Both ideology and policy matter. Yet, it seems like Trump just went with whoever wasn’t the “establishment” pick (but could still win the primary), without a thought for what he’s actually throwing his weight behind.
And look, this isn’t about Dr. Oz’s personality or any other shallow critique. If that was the only issue here, this endorsement wouldn’t even be worthy of a shoulder shrug. Rather, it’s Dr. Oz’s liberal history and murky positions that are the problem. His incoherence and flip-flopping regarding abortion is enough to raise serious concerns. I’ll let a lot of issues slide, if a politician is otherwise acceptable. That’s not one of them.
Dr. Oz also expressed support for Obamacare following Barack Obama’s win in 2008. He has also supported red flag laws which allow the government to infringe the Second Amendment rights by Americans simply because someone files a complaint. Heck, he’s even written in support of the idea that “systemic racism” exists in the healthcare industry.
But don’t take my word for it. Here’s John Cardillo, one of the biggest Trump supporters, on social media saying this is a bridge too far.
Trump’s endorsement of Dr. Oz is inexcusable.
He has just thrown his political capital behind an open border Hollywood liberal anti-gun pro abortion Hollywood liberal.
Oz will replace Mitt Romney in Senate.
— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) April 10, 2022
That’s the thing. Why should anyone believe Dr. Oz’s sudden transformation is anything but an attempt to draft off of Trump’s popularity? Yet, Trump seems content to offer his support — without a question of the motives at play. There is plenty of reason to believe Dr. Oz will become an absolute squish the moment he enters the Senate, and that’s if he wins at all. He’s not well-positioned to win the general election in his state, unlike Herschel Walker in Georgia.
Although I get the desire to be the exact opposite of Mitch McConnell, there have to be some overlaps. You can’t make your endorsement mean something — if it’s just given out to whoever the other guy doesn’t like. That cheapens Trump’s entire movement, and I think he’s going to regret this decision.
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