Mehmet Oz, aka Dr. Oz, is apparently facing steep difficulties in relaunching a career in the public spotlight after his failed campaign for Senate in Pennsylvania where — no matter Donald Trump’s support — he lost to Democratic Senate contender John Fetterman in this year’s midterm elections.
Oz faced all sorts of criticism during his ultimately unsuccessful campaign, including that he wasn’t sufficiently connected to the state to serve as one of its representatives in the Senate. He lived in New Jersey for decades, only evidently moving into Pennsylvania relatively recently — where he seemed desperate to characterize himself as legitimately in touch with local folks and their concerns. At the close of a pre-election debate, he even started singing the “fight song” for the Philadelphia Eagles. It didn’t work, with polling before his election loss showing substantial portions of voters were concerned about him being essentially out of touch. A full 44 percent of respondents indicated in Fox News polling they were concerned Oz wasn’t sufficiently familiar with Pennsylvania to serve as one of its Senators.
Now, a report from the celebrity gossip site Radar Online says Oz is struggling to even connect with the former producers on his daytime show focused on often dubious health claims that went off the air in January of this year as his Senate bid kicked off. “No one in the mainstream will touch him,” a source who went unidentified in the report said. “You can’t alienate half of your audience with a political stance and expect to bring in an audience on your return to television.” “He’s beating the bushes to revive his health-oriented talk show and groveling to everyone he knows to give him a break, but he’s not making much progress,” someone also said. And as for his past producers, a Radar Online source added: “He can’t even get a word with his former producers. Dr. Oz is a social creature who likes to hear himself talk, and it’s beginning to dawn on him that he’s just [not] wanted in Hollywood circles anymore.”
He might be appearing on right-wing media, but beyond joining the mill of conservative talking heads on a channel like Fox or even Newsmax, that’s it — at least for now. Trump’s Senate picks also lost in Nevada and Arizona, helping solidify continuing Democratic control of the chamber for two more years.
