CNN Panel Blames Oprah’s Fetterman Endorsement Over Oz on ‘Brand Maintenance’: ‘She Created Him’

CNN’s Audie Cornish chalked up Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement of Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman to “brand maintenance.”

Winfrey’s endorsement surprised many as she helped launch the TV career of Fetterman’s opponent, Republican Mehmet Oz. Being a Republican and sporting a Donald Trump endorsement meant a Winfrey endorsement for Oz was about as likely as a Harvey Weinstein comeback, but endorsing his opponent only days before the midterm elections is being seen by many as a major snub to Oz.

On Inside Politics on Friday, Dana Bash called Winfrey’s endorsement more of an “opposition announcement” than an actual endorsement of Fetterman and his views.

“She created him. The reason Dr. Oz is Dr. Oz, is because Oprah put him on the map,” Bash said. Oz appeared regularly on Oprah’s talk show and launched his own long-running talk show in 2009.

CNN anchor and correspondent Cornish warned that Winfrey is protecting her brand with the endorsement, noting the fact that Winfrey hasn’t publicly pushed back on Oz’s specific views on things like covid since he hit the campaign trail.

“I will be struck down by the gods for saying this, but I don’t want us to confuse political engagement with brand maintenance, and Oprah has been very cautious about criticizing Oz,” Cornish said.

She added, however, that there are political motivations too as Winfrey’s last-minute endorsement could potentially win over White suburban women.

“This is about maintaining the relationship she has with her brand and also focusing on White, Independent women in the Philly suburbs,” she said. “This is a huge part of the Oprah audience.”

Fetterman and Oz remain close in polling. Their support in Monmouth University polls before and after a bitter debate hardly changed, despite the fact that Fetterman continues to recover from a stroke, relying on closed captioning for the debate, as well as media interviews.

Watch above via CNN