Donald Trump has unveiled his latest controversial nominee for a senior position in the US government, tapping TV doctor Mehmet Oz to run crucial American health programs.
Dr Oz, an advocate for alternative medicine who rose to fame as a frequent guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, has been chosen by Mr Trump to lead the Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Medicare is a government-administered health insurance program for retirees and disabled people. Medicaid provides health insurance for people who otherwise cannot afford it.
Dr Oz ran, as a Republican, for the US Senate in 2022. He lost to current Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, a Democrat.
Dr Oz. Picture: Angela Weiss/AFP \
“America is facing a healthcare Crisis, and there may be no Physician more qualified and capable than Dr Oz to Make America Healthy Again,” Mr Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, today (random capitalisations, as always, his not mine).
“He is an eminent Physician, Heart Surgeon, Inventor, and World-Class Communicator, who has been at the forefront of healthy living for decades.
“Dr Oz will work closely with Robert F Kennedy Jr to take on the illness industrial complex, and all the horrible chronic diseases left in its wake.”
It is unclear which “chronic diseases” Mr Trump was referring to, or how the “illness industrial complex” is supposed to have created them. But there you go.
Dr Oz is a cardiothoracic surgeon, in addition to being a TV personality. After being platformed by Oprah, he headlined his own spin-off program, The Dr Oz Show, which won multiple daytime Emmy awards.
Dr Oz with Mr Trump during his run for the Senate in 2022. Picture: Ed Jones/AFP
Before his unsuccessful run for the Senate in 2022, Dr Oz gained yet more attention for his views on the Covid pandemic, which often strayed into the territory of conspiracy theories.
He was a leading advocate for the use of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug, to treat the virus, despite a distinct lack of supporting scientific evidence.
“He will also cut waste and fraud within our Country’s most expensive Government Agency, which is a third of our Nation’s Healthcare spend,” Mr Trump added in his statement.
Mr Kennedy ran an independent campaign for the presidency until quite late in the cycle, this year, when he dropped out of the race and endorsed Mr Trump.
Mr Trump subsequently said he would let Mr Kennedy go “wild” with US health policy.
During the dying weeks of the campaign, Mr Kennedy announced that a second Trump administration would seek to ban fluoride from water.
“I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr as the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services,” Mr Trump wrote on social media a few moments ago.
“For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to public health.”
It is perhaps worth noting that one of Mr Trump’s great achievements during his first term was Operation Warp Speed, which facilitated the quick development of Covid-19 vaccines.
His selection of Mr Kennedy to oversee health policy, then, is a shift in tone.
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