'Clown show': Critics mock Trump's pick of Dr. Oz to run Medicare and Medicaid

Donald Trump made yet another controversial nomination on Tuesday by announcing celebrity TV Dr. Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency that administers health coverage to tens of millions of elderly and low-income people.

The announcement of Oz, who was notorious for pushing COVID-19 disinformation and hawking unproven supplements as miracle cures, and who ran unsuccessfully for Senate in Pennsylvania in the 2022 elections, drew praise from Trump's supporters — but mockery and criticism from other commenters on social media.

"Trump just named Dr. Oz to serve as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator," wrote Mother Jones D.C. bureau chief David Corn on X. "Oz once was a major booster of a top spreader of Covid misinformation. Makes sense, right?"

"On top of everything else it is impossible to tell these days what is a joke and what's serious when you look at your phone and see texts saying like 'Dr. Oz will run CMS,'" wrote Capitol Forum reporter Paul McLeod.

Former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum, a longtime critic of Trump, quipped, "It's part of the drive for government efficiency, Dr Oz can lead Medicare to substitute inexpensive and all-natural green-coffee extract for costly kidney dialysis and chemotherapy."

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"Kill the old people and the poors. That's the MAGA credo," said writer Tom Watson, in response to Trump's boast that Oz would "cut waste and fraud."

X was not the only site that saw an immediate reaction; many users on the burgeoning competitor site Bluesky erupted too.

"More clown show appointments. Dr. Oz for CMS Administrator," wrote political consultant Fred Wellman.

Meanwhile, Semafor's Dave Weigel had a wry observation of a silver lining for Trump's foes.

"Trump just nominated Dr. Oz to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator, which ... honestly sounds better for progressives than Seema Verma" — the far-right and controversial former CMS director in the previous Trump administration, who became notorious for giving states waivers to cut Medicaid coverage.