Dr Mehmet Oz, a Senate candidate endorsed by Donald Trump, received less than a warm welcome at the former president’s rally as the audience repeatedly booed him.
Gathered in the rain on Friday night in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, the Trump supporters jeered each time Mr Oz’s name was mentioned – when his name came up in a video message, and when two other speakers separately endorsed him – and then greeted the doctor himself with a mix of applause and boos when he finally took the stage.
Even when Mr Trump spoke, calling the candidate his “friend,” the crowd’s reaction was resoundingly negative.
“My friend, Dr Mehmet Oz – he’s a great man,” the former president said, at which point the audience loudly booed.
Last month, Mr Trump chose Dr Oz as his favored candidate in this year’s GOP primary for Pennsylvania’s next senator. But many of Mr Trump’s staunchest supporters were horrified by the endorsement, citing the TV doctor’s previously supportive positions on abortion, trans rights, and other issues.
“This is happening because Trump’s surrounded himself by staff who are on McConnell’s payroll & hostile to the MAGA agenda,” tweeted Mo Brooks, the fiercely pro-Trump congressman from Alabama. “Everybody telling Trump who to endorse in primaries works for The Swamp. They played him. Again.”
At Friday’s rally, when Dr Oz took the stage, the response was tepid at best. Some in the audience appeared to turn their back on him and leave their seats.
The Senate candidate did his best to win them back, leaning hard on his endorsement from Mr Trump.
“President Trump endorsed me ‘cause he said I was smart, tough, and I will never let you down,” Dr Oz said, his hair slicked back from the rain. “Yeah, I’m smart, but am I tough? That’s the question. He knew it, ‘cause he checked it out. He did his homework. He wrote that announcement himself!”
Outside the rally, a placard propped up outside the rally took an informal poll, asking attendees, “Is Dr Oz America First?” Six respondents chose “Yes,” fifteen chose “No,” and three added in a third category: “F*** No.”
The Independent has reached out to Dr Oz’s campaign for comment.
