Bret Baier of Fox News asked Mehmet Oz an uncomfortable question in his last interview, so uncomfortable that Oz wouldn’t answer. It is a simple question with complex implications, depending on the answer. Oz was asked:
“Are you a MAGA Republican?”
From Mediaite:
Dr. Mehmet Oz refused to say whether he’s a “MAGA Republican” when asked by Fox News anchor Bret Baier. “Are you a MAGA Republican?” Baier asked. Oz did not answer the question directly. “I support what President Trump has argued while he was in the White House, that we can actually make America a great country if we put our country first, if we’re tough on trade, if we do the kinds of things that were done during that administration,” Oz replied.
That is not a yes. Granted, it’s not a “no,” either. But it’s not a “yes,” and even though Oz managed to make it sound like a difficult or even meaningless question, it is not. It couldn’t be easier. If the answer doesn’t include a “yes,” then the answer is “no.” There is no middle ground here. The MAGA leader either believes you’re loyal or you’re a RINO, one or the other.
In the last two days, Oz has made a move toward the middle – a middle that doesn’t really exist – and taken himself out of the MAGA movement. Yesterday, Oz said that he would have voted to certify the election, that the process had gone through the appropriate steps, and there was no basis for an objection. Oz is almost daring Trump to yank his endorsement.
Clearly, Oz thinks he is safest somewhere in the middle. The problem is, of course, that he’s not going to be able to find it. He is inextricably linked to Trump as the only guy who got Oz over an excruciatingly close primary. To wander off into the middle desert now is futile. He would be better served by keeping full MAGA cred and praying that the race is decided by turnout alone.
Either way, you’re either a MAGA or not in the same way that you’re either alive or not.
@JasonMiciak believes a day without learning is a day not lived. He is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is a Canadian-born dual citizen who spent his teen and college years in the Pacific Northwest and has since lived in seven states. He now enjoys life as a single dad of a young girl, writing from the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He loves crafting his flower pots, cooking, and currently studies philosophy of science, religion, and non-math principles behind quantum mechanics and cosmology. Please feel free to contact for speaking engagements or any concerns.