The choice to do the opposite was his, not Trump’s.Īnd Oz was not unique. He could have reminded voters of his best human qualities rather than displaying his worst. Before he succumbed to the allure of TV, Oz was an acclaimed doctor whose innovations transformed the treatment of heart disease. When his opponent got sick, Oz could have drawn on his own medical background for compassion and understanding. Oz got himself tangled up between competing positions on abortion, sometimes in consecutive sentences, precisely because he hoped to position himself as moderate on such issues.īut Oz’s decision to campaign as a jerk hurt him. The first Muslim nominated for a Senate run by a major party, he advanced Republican claims to represent 21st-century America. Oz was for years a successful TV pitchman, trusted by millions of Americans for health advice. Trump elevated election denial as an issue and burdened his party with a lot of election-denying candidates-and voters decisively repudiated them.īut not all of Trump’s picks were obviously bad. Oz’s defeat flipped the Pennsylvania seat from Republican to Democrat, dooming GOP hopes of a Senate majority in 2023.Ī growing number of Republicans are now pointing their finger at Donald Trump for the party’s disappointments in the 2022 elections, with good reason. Oz’s derision of his opponent’s medical condition continued right up until Oz lost the race by more than 250,000 votes. “We will allow John to have all of his notes in front of him along with an earpiece so he can have the answers given to him by his staff, in real time.” And: “We will pay for any additional medical personnel he might need to have on standby.” In August, the Oz campaign released a list of “concessions” it would offer to the Democrat John Fetterman in a candidates’ debate, including: Senate in Pennsylvania, what you do is mock your opponent’s affliction. If you are Mehmet Oz running as a Republican for the U.S. Let’s say you’re a politician in a close race and your opponent suffers a stroke. This article was featured in One Story to Read Today, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a single must-read from The Atlantic, Monday through Friday.
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