The hosts of ABC talk show The View expressed unanimous disappointment in Dr. Mehmet Oz over his GOP Senate campaign announcement, declaring on Wednesday that the TV doctor had “gone over to the dark side” by pandering to Fox News viewers.
Dr. Oz, who spent the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic peddling unproven cures and downplaying the severity of the virus, made a splashy entrance into the political ring this week. After former President Donald Trump’s hand-picked candidate dropped out over domestic abuse allegations, the New Jersey resident declared his candidacy for the open Pennsylvania Senate seat with an op-ed in the right-wing Washington Examiner and a friendly interview on Sean Hannity’s show.
During Wednesday’s broadcast of The View, all four hosts acknowledged that they had “socialized” with the made-for-TV doc in the past but felt that he “took a turn” over the past couple of years.
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Airing a clip from Oz’s Tuesday appearance on Hannity’s show, moderator Whoopi Goldberg said Oz—who has long been accused of “quackery,” including pushing “sham” supplements to his audience—has made it “pretty clear whose vote he’s courting” by kissing up to the MAGA Fox News star.
“What happened to him?! What happened to him?!” co-host Joe Behar exclaimed in response to Oz claiming his political ideology “matches” Hannity’s. “He’s gone over to the dark side! Oh my god!”
After the audience burst out in laughter, co-host Sunny Hostin then suggested a turning point for Oz was at the beginning of the pandemic, specifically when he argued that schools should remain fully open even if it meant a 2-3 percent increase in mortality rate.
“My thought is, you’re willing to sacrifice the lives of our children? Was he willing to sacrifice the lives of his children and his grandchildren? That’s when I saw the turn in him,” Hostin declared.
“He turned before that. I’m sorry,” Goldberg chimed in. “He turned before that.”
Behar also joked that she had done a show with the TV doc some years ago where he measured her body mass index (BMI) and said she was “underweight,” prompting the comedian to quip: “So, at that moment, I don’t trust him.”
At the same time, Behar said she knows Oz “a little bit” personally, describing him as a “doll” who has helped her in the past. “This is some political aspiration that he has that must be controlled,” she sighed, adding: “Mehmet, please, come back.”
Also calling Oz a “nice person,” Hostin then said “that’s what’s so confusing” about his current political stance because nice people wouldn’t “sacrifice people’s children.” Goldberg, meanwhile, retorted that “lots of people have done that” in the political arena.
“Listen, you either get that this is about other people’s health,” Goldberg continued. “Kids going back to school deserve to be safe and if you as a doctor and a physician can't see that, then you're not somebody I want to vote for. No matter how much I like you!”
