A CNN host is claiming that Dr. Mehmet Oz, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, is shunning interviews on the network for fear of angering officials at Fox News.
Michael Smerconish said on his Sirius XM radio show that he asked Dr. Oz at a Christmas party to appear on either the radio show or the CNN show that he is hosting as a fill-in for recently fired anchor Chris Cuomo.
“He proceeds to say to me, ‘I can’t possible [sic] do that because it would upset everybody at Fox. And I’ll come on your show after the primary,’” Mr. Smerconish told listeners.
The Oz campaign had no immediate comment.
In an appearance on Fox this week, Dr. Oz criticized The Philadelphia Inquirer for refusing to use the title of “doctor” when referring to him in news stories. He said the newspaper is trying to silence him.
“Why would [the Inquirer] not want to call me Dr. Oz? Everyone knows I’m Dr. Oz, but they don’t think it’s the right thing to do. They think it gives me an unfair advantage,” Dr. Oz said.
The candidate is a cardiothoracic surgeon and has hosted the Emmy-winning “Dr. Oz” TV show for 13 seasons. Sony Pictures announced Monday it is discontinuing the show next month due to his Senate candidacy.
The surgeon is one of several candidates seeking the GOP nomination to replace Sen. Pat Toomey, who is retiring.
Dr. Oz has done TV interviews with other outlets, including Newsmax and local stations in Pennsylvania.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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