Dr. Oz Accuses Mike Pompeo of ‘Bigotry’ For Questioning His Turkish Citizenship: ‘Heritage is Something We Should All Be Proud of’

Mehmet Oz accused former Trump administration Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of “bigotry” Wednesday for raising questions about his dual U.S./Turkish citizenship.

Oz is a Republican running for the Senate in Pennsylvania with the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.

The former TV doctor was raised in the U.S., but his parents immigrated from Turkey. As a result, Oz was born with dual citizenship. That citizenship has become an issue in Oz’s campaign.

Pompeo was among the doctor’s high-profile conservative critics last week.

“Maybe it’s all innocent, maybe it’s all straight up, but we and the people of Pennsylvania and the Americans who he will be representing as one of 100 members of the US Senate voting on important national security matters need to understand the scope and depth of his relationship with the Turkish government,” Pompeo stated.

Citing the potential Oz receives a high-level security clearance, Pompeo added even people such as contractors routinely take polygraph tests for such clearances.

On Newsmax TV’s The Balance Wednesday, host Eric Bolling asked Oz about the former State Department head’s statements.

Oz called the comments a “cheap shot” and “a distraction” to his campaign. He added,

People have asked me questions about my heritage, my parents were Turkish. For that reason, I have a Turkish citizenship. My mom has Alzheimer’s and lives in Turkey, to go back and visit with her, it helps me to have that citizenship. I’ve already pledged to give it up if I’m elected. But it’s a distraction that keeps rearing its ugly head, and I don’t see it as anything of any benefit to anybody to have brought that up. Our heritage is something we should all be proud of. It is bigotry to say anything otherwise.

Oz concluded he is focused on issues that matter to Pennsylvania’s voters, such as the energy prices.

Watch above, via Newsmax TV.