- Pennsylvania needs a conservative
who will put America first.
- The man once dubbed America's doctor is now
hoping to become Pennsylvania's Senator.
Dr. Mehmet Oz famed heart surgeon and talk show host
is running as a Republican in the key states primary saying,
he can heal what he describes as an ailing country made
worse by the response to the pandemic.
- We lost too many lives, too many jobs,
and too many opportunities because Washington
got it wrong.
They took away our freedom without making us safer
and tried to kill our spirit and our dignity.
- He's leaning into his medical experience.
But the TV doctor has become increasingly controversial.
His judgment called into question
for his past support of some treatments that
lack rigorous medical proof.
- He is Dr. Oz himself.
- Last night, the political novice
touting his record with conservative talk
show host Sean Hannity.
- I've taken on big pharma.
I've gone to battle with big tech.
I've gone against agrochemical companies, the big ones.
I've got scars to prove it.
- You have one of the best known individuals
in the medical world in the country
suddenly joining a race in a state
that he isn't necessarily even from.
An immediate target for attacks, he becomes a megawatt star
in a state that Republicans know is
critical to their hopes of retaking the Senate.
- Announcing his candidacy, Oz blasted the handling
of the pandemic, saying it became an excuse
for the government and elite thinkers who controlled
the means of communication to suspend debate targeting
the arrogant close-minded people in charge who shut down
our businesses and took away our freedom.
- It's a message that actually ties in the economy, jobs,
inflationary concerns, supply chain worries,
but also speaks to Republican voters who
see this as a basic liberty issue
and more of a culture war fight.
- Oz was born in Cleveland, Ohio,
the son of Turkish immigrants.
- Step number one, you've got to lift weights.
- A renowned heart surgeon in the early 2000s
he became a household name with regular appearances
as a medical expert on the Oprah Winfrey Show.
- We took the most popular satellite treatments out there.
- In 2009, he launched his own highly rated TV program,
the Dr. Oz Show.
- One, two, three.
- He was also featured in the 2012 ABC News docuseries NY Med
showcasing medical staff and patients at New York hospitals.
- It's impossible to imagine Dr. Oz without the medium
of television.
That's what made him into who he is.
This is a man who became quite famous for the television
shows, for his media appearances,
for him weighing in on the issues of the day,
sometimes touting very controversial medical advances.
- I've got the number one miracle
in a bottle to burn your fat.
- Oz has come under fire by some in the medical community
for pushing what he called Miracle products that
promised rapid weight loss.
- I want to be practical.
Don't over promise.
- We got to be honest.
- The scientific community is almost monolithic against you
in terms of the efficacy of the three products
that you called Miracles.
- In 2014 during a Senate hearing
on false advertising in the diet industry,
lawmakers took him to task.
- I don't get why you need to say this stuff because it's not
true.
So why when you have this amazing megaphone
and this amazing ability to communicate,
why would you cheapen your show by saying things like that?
- Well, if I could disagree about whether they work or not.
And I'll move on to the issue of the words that I used.
I'm not going to argue that it would
pass FDA muster if it was a pharmaceutical drug-seeking
approval.
But among the natural products that are out there,
this is a product that has several clinical trials.
- Oz eventually acknowledged that he
needed to be more careful when characterizing the products.
- I actually do personally believe in the items
that I talk about in the show.
I passionately study them.
I recognize that oftentimes they don't
have the scientific muster to present as fact.
If you look deeper into the shows,
I'll almost always mentioned something about the fact
that these are crutches, they're designed
for short term support.
You won't get there without diet and exercise.
- In 2015, a group of doctors penned a letter
to Columbia University urging the institution
to remove Oz from its faculty saying,
Dr. Oz has repeatedly shown disdain for science
and for evidence based medicine.
Worst of all, he has manifested an egregious lack of integrity
by promoting quack treatments and cures in the interest
of personal financial gain.
- You may have seen the headline--
- Oz fired back on his show.
- Figuring out how to talk about your health
and how to talk to you about it can be difficult.
And there's been a backlash to my approach
in some parts of the medical community.
These doctors are criticizing me for promoting
treatments and cures in the interest
of personal financial gain.
Something I tell you every day on this program, I never do.
- Last year at the beginning of the pandemic,
Oz faced criticism when he suggested schools should
reopen even if it costs lives.
- To get every child back into a school, where they're safely
being educated, being fed, and making the most out
of their lives with a theoretical risk
in the backside.
It might be a trade off some folks would consider.
- Oz later apologized.
We reached out to him for comment,
but didn't immediately hear back.
Looming over this Pennsylvania race, former President Trump.
He and Oz have enjoyed a friendly relationship.
Trump appointing aides to serve on his presidential council
for sport, fitness, and nutrition.
- Donald Trump has not endorsed anyone in the Pennsylvania
Senate race.
However, we do know that Dr. Oz spoke with former President
Trump ahead of his announcement clearly
courting that endorsement.
There's no question that President Trump's endorsement
in the Pennsylvania race will be meaningful.
But with such high name ID, you could see Dr. Oz actually
pulling ahead before he even gets an endorsement
or does it from President Trump.
- In the crowded race that could determine control
of the Senate, Oz is now campaigning on a slew
of conservative issues from supporting the anti-abortion
rights movement, to stopping illegal immigration.
- He has a persona that cuts both ways.
He is extremely well known.
Perhaps the best known doctor in the country.
But he's also been on the record in a whole lot
of controversial ways over the years, all of which
has even become fodder for a competitive primary.