Trump Backs Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania Rally

This image released by Sony Pictures Entertainment shows Dr. Mehmet Oz, left, and presidential candidate Donald Trump in a 2016 file photo. Sony Pictures Entertainment via AP

Former President Donald Trump expressed support for Republican Senate Candidate Mehmet Oz during a rally in Pennsylvania, insisting that the GOP member is someone who believes in the ideals of MAGA.

“Dr. Oz has led an enormously successful career on television, and now he’s running to save our country, just like I do,” Trump said in his speech on May 6. “Dr. Oz is a man who truly believes in Make America Great Again or the MAGA movement.”

The celebrity doctor is due to compete in the Republican primary in less than two weeks. At the rally, Trump also highlighted his recent endorsement success, with the May 3 Republican primary seeing all 22 of his endorsed candidates in Indiana and Ohio win their races.

Despite Trump’s endorsement, Oz was continually booed by the crowd. Not only did rally attendees boo as his ads played on the screen, but they also expressed disapproval before he took the stage and when other speakers mentioned Oz’s name. The rally staff upped the music as Oz came out on stage in an attempt to drown out the crowd.

Carrie Hamley, a small business owner from Greensburg, told HuffPost reporter Daniel Marans that the reason she is not supporting Oz is because he is not a Pennsylvanian or conservative and not someone who would “represent us well.”

According to a recent poll by Franklin & Marshall, 41 percent of Republican voters viewed Oz unfavorably, with just 29 percent seeing him in a positive light. Oz’s primary opponent, former hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick, had better support from a faction of voters who support Trump, with 28 percent saying that they support him as opposed to 19 percent favoring Oz.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is raising questions about Oz’s potential ties with the Turkish government. Oz is a citizen of both America and Turkey. At a press briefing on Friday, Pompeo noted that Oz had voted in a Turkish presidential election but not an American election.

“Maybe it’s all innocent, maybe it’s all straight up, but we and the people of Pennsylvania and [all] Americans … need to understand the scope and depth of his relationship with the Turkish government,” stated Pompeo, who is supporting McCormick in the election.

During the Pennsylvania rally, Trump took aim at McCormick, pointing out that the former CEO had commented about his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach.

“David came out very strongly against me on numerous occasions. This was before he was going to run all of a sudden, he said, ‘Boy, I like this guy a lot.’ Including with respect to the disinformation spread about January 6, total disinformation,” Trump said.

“So I don’t know David well, and he may be a nice guy, but he’s not MAGA. He’s not MAGA. He’s more Toomey than he is MAGA,” he added, referring to Pennsylvanian Republican Senator Pat Toomey who had voted to convict the former president during his second impeachment.

Trump also pointed out that McCormick has worked with a company that “managed money for communist China.”