Donald Trump’s recent endorsement of celebrity doctor and Pennsylvania Senate Candidate Mehmet Oz has sent MAGA-world into a meltdown.
Many ardent Trump supporters see Oz as untrustworthy and an individual who holds more liberal views than conservative.
The crowded race features Dave McCormick, who has former Trump admin official Hope Hicks on his team. McCormick is the fan favorite of MAGA-world and Trump’s endorsement of Oz is one that should have went to McCormick in their eyes.
At issue among Trump’s most fervent supporters is the belief that Oz, a Turkish-American TV physician who has hobnobbed with Hollywood’s elite and has flip-flopped on the issue of abortion, isn’t a trustworthy “America First” Republican candidate, compared to fellow candidate Dave McCormick, who has ex-Trump administration official Hope Hicks by his side. (Another Trumpworld stalwart, Stephen Miller, stopped all involvement and employment with the McCormick campaign after Trump’s Oz endorsement, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told The Daily Beast after this story was published.)
“I have enormous respect for President Trump. I was honored to have his endorsement in PA. Twice,” Sean Parnell, the former Trump-backed candidate, who dropped out of the race after an abuse allegation surfaced from his estranged ex-wife, wrote on Twitter. “But I’m disappointed by this. Oz is the antithesis of everything that made Trump the best president of my lifetime.”
Even pro-Trump personalities jumped on the chance to criticize the decision by Trump.
“It’s like Donald Trump’s staff is sabotaging Trump by convincing him to make the worst possible endorsements,” conservative radio host Erick Erickson tweeted.
“This endorsement could divide MAGA in the only way that matters: he could lose America First conservatives over it,” Breitbart News’ Joel Pollak wrote.
Mo Brook’s who recently lost his endorsement of Trump stated, “This is happening because Trump’s surrounded himself by staff who are on McConnell’s payroll & hostile to the MAGA agenda. Everybody telling Trump who to endorse in primaries works for The Swamp.”
However, the claims of McConnell controlling Trump lost some steam on Fox News Sunday when McConnell refused to endorse anyone in the the race.
Even Trump confidant Roger Stone slammed the move, “Wait? President [Trump] endorsed this guy?”
Many other lesser known personalities also took issue with the endorsement.
The uproar could spell a fracture in Trump’s solid support group for 2024 or just be a bump in the road. Only time will tell.
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