Dr. Oz to Newsmax: Removal From WH Fitness Council Politically Motivated

Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is running for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania as a Republican, told Newsmax on Thursday that he was asked a day earlier by the White House to resign or face termination from his position on the President's Council on Sports, Fitness, & Nutrition.

Herschel Walker, a Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Georgia and former NFL player, was also asked by President Joe Biden's administration to leave the council on Wednesday, according to The Hill.

"Biden's playing political games," Oz said on "Eric Bolling: The Balance."

"And it's so sad to politicize the health of children," he added.

Oz explained the importance of the presidential advisory position as providing an ear to the White House for helping kids stay healthy and highlighted his experience in doing the same.

The council "was created back in the [former Presidents] Eisenhower-Kennedy years. It was a bipartisan effort to get people who were popular among kids to just talk to kids," he explained.

"I've got a foundation called HealthCorps. We teach kids all over the country about how to stay healthy, about how to have mental resilience to control their own body. We raised $80 million to help kids.

"I was criticized for joining the council even though I would do anything to help kids," Oz emphasized.

Oz and Walker were appointed to the White House council in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump, with Walker being appointed co-chair of the body. Oz said he was selected for another term in 2020.

The former cardiothoracic surgeon said in a video statement released to his Twitter account on Wednesday that he would not resign from the position and allow the administration to terminate him.

"Clearly, Joe Biden can't be around anyone who doesn't completely fall in line with his fear-mongering, authoritarian, one-size-fits-all COVID handling. I am proud of my service and will not resign," Oz said in the video.

On Newsmax, he reiterated that he "absolutely, categorically, would not quit" the position.

Note: See Newsmax TV now carried in more than 100 million U.S. homes, on DirecTV Ch. 349, Dish Network Ch. 216, Xfinity Ch. 1115, Spectrum, U-verse Ch. 1220, FiOS Ch. 615, Frontier Ch. 115, Optimum Ch. 102, Cox cable, Suddenlink Ch. 102, Mediacom Ch. 277, AT&T TV Ch 349, FUBO and major OTT platforms like Roku, YouTube, Xumo, Pluto and most smart TV’s including Samsung+, Sony, LG, Vizio and more – Find All Systems that Carry Newsmax – Click Here