Ben Shapiro Defends Dr. Oz’s Wealth: ‘Biblically Speaking, Most of the Prophets Were Actually Kinda Wealthy’

The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro offered a novel defense of Dr. Mehmet Oz on Friday, arguing that independently wealthy candidates are not “elitist,” but actually more like Biblical prophets.

“The real campaign issue in Pennsylvania, according to everybody, is Dr. Mehmet Oz is an elitist. Elitist. And we know if you earn money in the United States, that makes you unqualified for office,” Shapiro said of Oz — the Trump-backed GOP nominee for Senate in Pennsylvania.

“So, sure. The original founders of the country tended to be overwhelmingly wealthy men because again, the idea here is that if you don’t want people in politics or demagogues, then it’s good for them to have an outside source of income,” Shapiro argued.

“You want to cut down on corruption. It’s good for people to be independently wealthy before they’re in office. It’s not a bad thing,” Shapiro continued.

“It gives you the ability to say things that are actually on your mind because you have less to lose. This is why, biblically speaking, most of the prophets were actually kind of wealthy, because if you’re wealthy, you don’t have much to lose in any case,” Shapiro argued, adding:

Dr. Oz has now come under severe fire. Not a biblical prophet, but a candidate for Pennsylvania. Why? Well, because he was asked about the number of houses that he owns and he was off.

Shapiro was referring to a recent campaign hick-up for Oz when he claimed he had two houses, but in fact owns 10. Oz’s opponent Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D-PA) quickly turned the episode into more fodder for his online taunts of Oz.

Dr. Oz claimed he has only two houses. Survey says…. pic.twitter.com/CLJbhQCH7U

— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) August 17, 2022

Shapiro, notably, has not offered praise for wealthy Democrats in elected office. Quite the contrary, he has argued that Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) independent wealth has led to a “long history of insider trading.”

Watch the full clip above