Dr. Oz (left), Herschel Walker.Photo: Roy Rochlin/Getty; RNC via Getty
Dr.Mehmet Ozand former football starHerschel Walkermust resign from their posts on the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition — or be fired, PresidentJoe Bidensaid this week.
While a White House official told CNN the decision came as a result of the Biden administration’spolicy against federal candidatesserving on presidential boards, both Oz and Walker have tried to frame the issue as one of partisanship, because they are running as Republicans.
“I’ve got no intention, my friends of resigning — none. If President Biden wants to politicize health, he’ll have to fire me,” Oz said in his video on social media.
On Twitter,Walker claimedBiden asked him to resign because the president “is so scared about us beating Raphael Warnock,” the Georgia Democrat whom Walker is running to un-seat.
Oz made hisofficial announcementthat he is launching a Republican campaign for Senate in Pennsylvania in November, after much speculation.
Walker, a College Football Hall of Famer who played for the University of Georgia and was an NFL running back,announced his candidacyfor the Senate — also as a Republican — last summer.
Bothhave courted controversyprior to and since announcing their runs for office.
(In response toaNew York Timesarticle last yeardetailing some of the issues, his campaign said he went against the “established grain” but was focused on his patients. Oz himself has said he tries to reach the audience where they are and “empower “them.)
Walker’s past issues have stemmed largely from his personal life. In 2008, he wrote abouthaving dissociative identity disorderand his ex-wife said that he had violent episodes in their marriage, including holding a gun to her head — whichCNN reportedhe did not deny, saying he had suffered from periods of memory loss.
The same day the White House requested the resignations of Oz and Walker, itposted two new appointments to the council: Chef José Andrés and WNBA player Elena Delle Donne.
source: people.com
