january3–16, 2022 | new york 33uphisfanbasefor 20 yearsin
November’s generalelection,he
willhavetoprovetothecliquish
andsqueamishgrassrootsgate-
keepersandmachinekingmakers
ofthePennsylvaniaRepublican
Partythat hecanbetrustednot
tofuckuptheirplanstowinthe
majority. Orat least trustedmore
thanhiscompetition.
Gettingthenominationof eitherparty fora racethishighprofile
is boundtobea fraughtendeavor,andnobodyis likelytoemerge
withboththeirdignity andtheirsanity intact. WhenGOPleaders
statewidesoughttocensureToomeyforvotingtoconvictPresident
TrumpofincitingtheJanuary6 insurrectionduringhissecond
impeachmenttrial,theexpectationsforcandidatesintheprimary
crystallized.“AnycandidatewhowantstowininPennsylvaniain
2022 must befull-Trumpmaga,” SteveBannonsaidat thetime.
Fora while,that candidate appearedtobeSeanParnell,a former
ArmyRangerwhohadreceivedthePurpleHeartforhisservice
inAfghanistan.Parnelllost hisbidfortheHousein2020,buthe
madea goodimpressionontheparty’srightwing,andinSeptem-
ber, Trumpannouncedhe’dearnedthemagasealofapproval.
“SeanParnellwillalwaysputAmericaFirst,”hesaid.“He hasmy
CompleteandTotalEndorsement!”
Buttherewerealreadysignsthat Parnell,hispersonallifefalling
apartamidaccusationsof childandspousalabusefromhisex-wife,
wouldn’t last throughtheMayprimary, andopportunistsreadied
themselvestoact onhisreversalofluck.ForDr. Oz,theplanwas
simpleenough:WhenParnelldroppedout,hewouldswoopinto
savetheday, inheritingParnell’ssupporters.He wouldthenbring
innew onesonthestrengthofhiscelebrity andaccomplishments,
whichwouldappealtomoderateswithcollege degrees,andhis
goodrelationshipwiththeformerpresident,whichwouldappeal
totheextremistsandconspiracists.
He’d alwaysthoughthewouldrunforoffice.In recentyears,his
anglinginthat directionhadbecomemoreandmoreobvious.He’d
evendoneTrumpthefavorof welcominghimontoTheDr. OzShow
in 2016 todiscusstheresultsofa phy mthat claimedhehadclockedinat an improbable-
seemingweightplacing him just
outsidethebodymass index’s cat-
egorizationforobesity. “We were
watchingduringthe taping, and
everyonewaslike, ‘Wait, is anyone
goingtochallenge him?’ ”the for-
merproducersaid. “A lot of people
werereallyupset. People were say-
ing,‘OhGod.Ozlikes him.’”
PlusDr. Ozhadbeenhatedbysomeofthevery people who went
ontomake upthe#resistancetotheTrumppresidency ever since
hewasdraggedbeforeCongressin 2014 andyelled at by Claire
McCaskillforpromotingdiet pillsandotherquacky quickfixes on
hisprogram.In theyearsthereafter,Dr. Ozseemed to radicalize
againstwhat wenowrefertoas“cancelculture.”
HeairedhoursofconversationwithCanadianintellectual and
conservativesocial-mediamegastarJordanPeterson in which they
discussedtherangeofhisoeuvre,thebreakdown of society, the
importanceof traditionalmarriage, of meaningfulrelationships, of
purpose,aswellasthepsychologyofmurderersand the all-meat
(plussalt)diet Petersonhadadoptedandclaimedhad transformed
hisbodyandhismind.Dr. Oz,whohascautionedagainst diets that
banany foodgroupsandwhohadneverbeenshy about condemn-
ingdietaryhabitshebelievestobeharmful,offered no criticism.
Hespoke at lengthtoRyanHoliday,theauthorof TrustMe, I’m
Lying,aboutthe“fake news”epidemic,ofwhich Dr. Oz said he
consideredhimselfa victim.WhenPeterThielengineered the end
ofGawker,Dr. Ozsaidhefoundhimself“cheering.” Thecorrupt
presshadmadehim“theposterchildforfake advertising,” he said,
“andwehavelarge mediacompaniesmakinga fortune ... on my
name,Oprah’sname,many otherpeople’s names.”
Asfarbackas2009,Dr. Ozhadpubliclysignaled hisconser-
vatism,oncetellingNewYorkthat thenativeofthe city he most
admiredwasTeddyRooseveltbecauseofhislibertarian values. He
wasinvolved,somewhat,inRepublicanpoliticsinNew Jersey and
hadopenlysupportedJohnMcCain.In recentyears, if you were
watchingtheshoworlisteningtothepodcast, hislurch away from
thecenterwasapparent. (Continued on page 72)Clockwise from left: Dr. Oz with Nate
Berkus, Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Phil,
and Suze Orman in 2010; with
guest Michelle Obama on The Dr. Oz
Show in 2012; with Lisa Oz in their
New Jersey home in 2017.PHOTOGRAPHS: AMANDA SCHWAB/STARPIX/SHUTTERSTOCK (OPRAH); BRYAN ANSELM/REDUX (WIFE); © SONY PICTURES TELEVISION/EVERETT COLLECTION (OBAMA). PHOTO-ILLUSTRATION IMAGES: LAWRENCE BUSACCA/GETTY IMAGES (HEAD); NOEL VASQUEZ/GETTY IMAGES (BODY); JUPITERIMAGES/GETTY IMAGES.