Republican Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz is sharing whether he would have objected to certifying the results of the 2020 election if he were a senator at the time.
MSNBC’s Vaughn Hillyard asked on Tuesday, “If you had been in the U.S. Senate on Jan. 6 of 2021, would you have objected to the certification of the 2020 election?”
“I would not have objected to it,” Oz responded.
He continued, “By the time the delegates and those reports were sent to the U.S. Senate, our job was to approve it, which is what I would have done.”
When asked if he supports Sen. Pat Toomey’s (R-Pa.) vote to convict former President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial, Oz said, “I would not have voted in favor of impeaching President Trump.”
“I think the president was already leaving office by then,” he added.
Watch the video below:
.@VaughnHillyard: "If you had been in the Senate on Jan. 6, would you have objected to the certification of the 2020 election?"
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 6, 2022
Oz: "I would not… By the time the delegates & those reports were sent to the Senate, our job was to approve it, which is what I would have done." pic.twitter.com/Tgnz0t0YY2
Oz’s comments come as President Joe Biden has stepped up criticism of “MAGA Republicans” and those who do not accept the outcome of the 2020 election.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Biden said, “I don’t consider any Trump supporters a threat to the country.”
He explained, “I do think anyone who calls for the use of violence, fails to condemn violence when it’s used, refuses to acknowledge an election that has been won, insists upon changing the way you count votes, that is a threat to democracy.”
The president also stated, “When people voted for Donald Trump, and still support him now, they weren’t voting for the attack on the Capitol. They weren’t voting for overruling an election. They were voting for the philosophy he put forward.”
Oz’s comments on Tuesday might help him deflect concerns about his stance on acknowledging election results.
But it also might risk a rebuke from Trump — who endorsed him ahead of the Republican primary earlier this year.
The former president has previously shown little tolerance for Republicans who are not in step with his stance on the 2020 election.
After Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) said Republicans should move on from 2020, Trump withdrew his endorsement of the Congressman in his Senate primary bid.
Trump then endorsed Katie Britt who went on to win the primary.