Politicians Who Have Publicly Slammed Dr. Oz

Donald Trump once hailed Mehmet Oz, aka Dr. Oz, as the miracle cure for America's damaged healthcare system. In a November 2024 statement, the president announced that his educational background, work experience, as well as his decades on TV all made Dr. Oz a great fit for heading the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The statement even detailed many of his achievements, including Dr. Oz's tenure as a Professor of Surgery at Columbia University, a position that, it's worth noting, his fellow medical professionals didn't think he deserved. 

In April 2015, a group of physicians teamed up and wrote a letter to Dr. Lee Goldman, the Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and Medicine at the university, to strongly urge him against hiring the celebrity doctor. "Dr. Oz has repeatedly shown disdain for science and for evidence-based medicine, as well as baseless and relentless opposition to the genetic engineering of food crops," they warned, per Vox. "Worst of all, he has manifested an egregious lack of integrity by promoting quack treatments and cures in the interest of personal financial gain." 

Of course, that wasn't the first time the famed physician had heard that criticism, since medical professionals have been pushing back against some of the most eyebrow-raising medical advice he has given for years. For instance, in one episode of the "Dr. Oz Show," the host went so far as to suggest that communicating with the dead could be a nice little stress-buster. His peers didn't even need to fact-check that wild claim because it was blatantly untrue. While Dr. Oz's controversial track record seemingly went unnoticed by his employer in the government, his fellow politicians didn't let him off the hook that easily.

When we take a look back at the time Dr. Oz ran for Senate in Pennsylvania, in 2022, it's hard not to think of all the ways in which his Democratic opponent, John Fetterman, tore the TV personality down. Throughout his campaign, Fetterman labeled the New Jersey native a "carpetbagger," a term used to describe political candidates who don't campaign from their hometown because they see an exploitative opportunity elsewhere (via X, formerly known as Twitter). The outspoken politician also went down an obvious albeit effective route by repeatedly reminding voters that his opponent's attempts to portray himself as the average Joe were misleading since Mehmet Oz was a multi-millionaire who didn't truly understand or care about their struggles. 

At one point, the two grown men ditched the political and personal barbs altogether and instead resorted to dissing each other through jokes. In August 2022, Fetterman took to X to share that he had commissioned a billboard that read "Now leaving [Pennsylvania] for [New Jersey] just like Dr. Oz." Since the former lieutenant governor's campaign was largely centered around reminding voters that Dr. Oz wasn't actually from Pennsylvania, Fetterman also didn't hesitate to poke fun at his visit to several popular Philly cheesesteak spots, tweeting, "Ah yes, the trip to Pats + Geno's — a rite of passage for every tourist." 

When the celebrity physician tweeted a poorly edited photo of Bernie Sanders and Fetterman, the former mayor of Braddock sniped back at him with a jarring image of his own that read "Graphic design in my passion" against a rainbow background and a random shot of a cat. After all was said and done, Fetterman clinched the victory in the elections.

According to CNN, in March 2022, Joe Biden gave Dr. Oz two options: Respectfully resign from his Donald Trump-appointed post on the President's Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition or be fired from it. The then-commander-in-chief made the request in order to stay in line with an administrative policy that barred people who were running for federal office from having a spot on special presidential councils. In a message on X, the celebrity physician posited that Biden's demand stemmed from his inability to accept that they had differing views on how to handle COVID-19. Mehmet Oz also made it abundantly clear that he had no intention of going quietly.

And so, the Democratic leader stayed true to his word and fired him just days later. In a statement released shortly afterward, Dr. Oz claimed that the White House had sent him another letter explaining that "it [was] customary to replace the council with members who share[d] the President's priorities," (via USA Today). Somewhat surprisingly, their spat didn't end with the celebrity physician's departure. After Biden contracted COVID in July 2022, Dr. Oz wrote him a get-well message that had X in a tizzy. 

Then, the former vice president publicly shaded the TV personality while supporting John Fetterman at an October 2022 gathering. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Biden made good use of his strong ties to his twin hometowns of Pennsylvania and Delaware by quipping, "[Dr. Oz] went to high school in Delaware. But Delaware was smart enough to send him to New Jersey," (via Newsweek).

Elizabeth Warren started pushing back against Dr. Oz's appointment as the administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) before he even took over the post. In a December 2024 letter addressed to Mehmet Oz, the outspoken Democrat asserted that none of his work demonstrated that he had the managerial skills to effectively handle the healthcare needs of hundreds of millions of people. Warren was also gravely concerned about his plans to have a separate Medicaid plan for uninsured seniors that would be helmed by private, for-profit companies. Despite all her concerns, the senator was still seemingly willing to give the Republican a fair shot, so she ended her letter by asking him direct questions that would ease her doubts. 

However, in a follow-up letter from March 2025, Warren revealed that her first message had unfortunately gone unanswered. So, she unsurprisingly grew more vocal in her criticisms of Donald Trump's CMS administrator. Taking to X, in October 2025, she wrote, "Dr. Oz is another rich guy who doesn't care if your health care costs go up or an insurance company denies you coverage." In a video attached to the tweet, Warren reiterated her sentiment that the only people who would benefit from his tenure would be the celebrity doctor himself and the owners of big corporations. As she pointed out, "Dr. Oz spent his entire career peddling pharmaceuticals on TV to line his own pockets. So, who do you think he's going to work for when his job is to rein in Big Pharma?"

Former President Barack Obama delivered several scathing blows to Dr. Oz while publicly endorsing John Fetterman at a rally in November 2022. Obama explained that throughout Mehmet Oz's long-standing television career, he had bombarded his loyal viewers with largely unproven solutions to their medical problems. The bestselling author drove his point home further by reminding the crowd that the celebrity doctor had bizarrely claimed that people could reduce their Restless Leg Syndrome by simply keeping a bar of lavender soap under their bed, and fend off dementia by consuming healthy amounts of palm oil. 

Obama joked that people should ignore the fact that some of these so-called solutions did more harm than good, adding, "You just have to believe, and then hand over your credit card information," (via Newsweek). On a more serious note, the former president also proclaimed simply, "If somebody is willing to peddle snake oil to make a buck, then he's probably willing to sell snake oil to get elected." Elsewhere during his speech, Obama admitted to being completely baffled by Dr. Oz's claim that the only people who should really make decisions about the right to abortion were "women, doctors and local political leaders," (via YouTube). 

The former Illinois senator quipped that the celebrity physician's statement gave the impression that he expected people to consult their sheriff and mayor to determine if it was the right time for them to start a family. Ultimately, Obama believed the 2022 Pennsylvania senate election was a clear choice between politicians who actually cared about their constituents and those who would go to any lengths for a power grab.

One of the biggest controversies surrounding Dr. Oz's show revolved around his peddling natural medication as a quick and easy means to achieve weight loss. In June 2014, the celebrity doctor's wild claims landed him in hot water with Senator Claire McCaskill. While Mehmet Oz was appearing before a senate panel, McCaskill pointed out how he had marketed green coffee extract and raspberry ketones as effective weight loss solutions, despite likely knowing that they wouldn't have their intended effect. 

Moreover, the Democrat expressed confusion about why Dr. Oz had chosen to "cheapen" his platform to perpetuate these claims (via YouTube). However, the TV personality stood his ground, stating that he had also recommended his remedies to loved ones, while still acknowledging that many of them wouldn't exactly be considered scientific solutions. While Dr. Oz was running for the Pennsylvania seat in 2022, he caught the ire of another senator, Dave McCormick, who also happened to be his Republican opponent. 

At the Republican primary debate, McCormick argued that Dr. Oz had repeatedly changed his stance on key voter issues, remarking, "The problem, doctor, is there's no miracle cure for flip-flopping," (via YouTube). The politician also asserted that he had no choice but to bring up Donald Trump's endorsement because the celebrity physician had no political credentials of his own to stand on. Furthermore, Dr. Oz's opponent also ran campaign ads labelling him a RINO, aka "Republican in Name Only." Given all this, it's unsurprising Trump's endorsement of the controversial celebrity figure landed him in hot water.