Mehmet ‘Mohammed’ Oz’s bizarre Senate campaign responded to criticism about his ties to the Islamist regime in Turkey by playing the X card.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday alleged that Republican US Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz may be a security threat if he is elected to office.

Pompeo, a former CIA director and ex-Kansas congressman, said that Oz, who holds dual citizenship, must explain his relationship with Turkey’s government, citing Oz’s decision to vote in Turkish elections as recently as 2018 and his work with Turkish Airlines.

“I was involved in the process which adjudicated efforts to receive national security information — the clearance process inside the United States. And precisely the things that we have seen reported are the kinds of things that those who are making those judgments about whether to provide that sensitive American information — to government officials or to private citizens, to contractors are working on behalf of the American government — these are precisely the kinds of questions they would ask in making such a determination and they get answers. They often get answers under polygraph.”

Oz’s statement that he’ll renounce his Turkish citizenship if elected is already nothing short of bizarre. 

And his campaign responded by crying, xenophobia.

The Oz campaign dismissed Pompeo’s criticism.

“These are pathetic and xenophobic attacks on Dr. Oz by David McCormick, who should be ashamed of himself,” said Oz spokeswoman Brittany Yanick. 

“Now that he lost President Trump’s endorsement, he’s resorted to sad and desperate attacks that are no different than the tropes used against Catholics and Jews.”

Yanick said, “Dr. Oz has already said when elected to the Senate he would renounce his citizenship. There is no security issue whatsoever, and David McCormick knows that Dr. Oz has maintained his dual citizenship to make it easier to help care for his mother who has Alzheimer’s and lives there.”

You renounce foreign citizenship before you run for public office, not on a conditional basis.

Oz voted in Turkey’s elections so the story about his sick mother is more nonsense. 

The big issue though is Turkey itself.

The country is currently run by a brutal Islamist dictator from the local equivalent of the Muslim Brotherhood who supports Islamic terrorists. Turkey is an enemy of the United States specifically and the West in general. 

Raising questions about Mehmet ‘Mohammed’ Oz’s ties to Turkey isn’t xenophobia. He’s not being attacked for being of Turkish origin, but for maintaining political ties to a country run by allies of Islamic terrorists.

Oz is doubling down by proposing to serve in the Senate without abandoning his Turkish citizenship, but avoiding classified materials.

U.S. Senate candidate Mehmet Oz said today that he would forego certain security clearances that are provided to all U.S. Senators to keep his dual citizenship with Turkey…

When asked about his dual citizenship with the United States and Turkey, Oz explained that he keeps his Turkish citizenship to care for his mother, who suffers from Alzheimer’s Disease. When queried what he would do if this would disqualify him from security clearances, Oz agreed that he would forego them in this situation, noting “I can love my country and love my mom.”

Should we even ask which country is under discussion here?