Trump 'Regrets' Picking Dr. Oz In PA As Populism Booms: Report

PENNSYLVANIA — Former President Donald Trump reportedly regrets his endorsement of celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz in the race for Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate seat, the latest signal of the growing division between the scorched earth politics of hardline populist MAGA candidates and the more traditional Republicans whom voters have afforded lukewarm reception this election cycle.

Oz, never seen as the "Trumpiest" pick out of a large Republican field, was the surprising recipient of the former president's endorsement just weeks before the primary was held this spring. Now, with Democratic candidate John Fetterman's lead growing and his campaign leaping on a series of Oz's gaffes, the former president sees the writing on the wall.

"He's going to (expletive) lose," Trump said, multiple sources told Rolling Stone magazine.

Compounding Trump's frustration, the report states, is Trump's personal feeling that Fetterman, a symbol of Democratic Party's progressive wing who has been recovering from a stroke, was an easier candidate to beat.

"He thinks Fetterman is in poorer shape than Biden and has hidden in his basement more [than Joe Biden]," the Rolling Stone report reads.

Fetterman has a 7.5 point lead over Oz, according to an aggregate of the latest polls from RealClearPolitics.

In a recent campaign stop at the Westmoreland Fair outside Pittsburgh, Oz denied the Trump report.

“It’s not true," he said, according to TribLive. "It’s not true at all. He’s been very supportive, offering advice. His team has been helpful as well..."

Following Trump's primary endorsement of Oz, analysts saw voters torn between what they heard the candidates say and what Trump said. The outcome, a tie between Oz and the establishment candidate and former Bush official David McCormick, was made possible by the splitting of the MAGA between Oz, Kathy Barnette, Jeff Bartos, and others.

Regardless of what's happening behind the scenes, Trump is still coming to Pennsylvania on Sept. 3 to rally for Oz — and the more competitive (and far more Trump-brand) Republican candidate in the gubernatorial race, Doug Mastriano. The rally will be held in Wilkes-Barre.

While Mastriano also trails Shapiro by 5.2 points, according to RealClearPolitics, he dominated his spring primary with fiery Trump invective, and has built his wider popularity almost entirely around his support of the 2020 "stolen election" and related Trump narratives. Similar candidates have won out in primaries around the nation — including the Wyoming race that recently unseated long-sitting U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney — and have also seen increasing popularity at large, as seen in the growing bloc mobilizing for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' rumored presidential run.