NEWS AND OPINION:
Donald Trump went to Oz — Dr. Oz, that is. An interesting encounter on Wednesday: the GOP nominee talked over health issues with Dr. Mehmet Oz — a campaign dynamic that is very much on the minds of voters following the public distress of Hillary Clinton during a recent “medical episode.” Her doctor revealed a diagnosis of pneumonia; toxic controversy and a sudden outbreak of feverish news coverage followed.
The conversation between Dr. Oz and Mr. Trump will air Thursday on the physician’s daily, nationally syndicated show. The candidate agreed to the appearance last week, well before Mrs. Clinton became ill and left the campaign trail.
Dr. Oz, who sees his daily broadcast as an examination room of sorts, has his own public-minded agenda.
“I do not believe we can have a wealthy country without being a healthy country. So I do think people want to understand. What happens to my health care if Mr. Trump is elected? And more importantly, what kind of role model is he for health in our country?” Dr. Oz told “Kilmeade & Friends” on Fox News Radio.
He is optimistic that viewers will get an understanding of Mr. Trump’s health by the end of the show. He also had some praise for the candidate’s staff. “I must say, his campaign has been very professional about this. They haven’t asked me for anything,” added Dr. Oz.
INSTANT ’DEPLORABLES’ CULTURE
SEE ALSO: Bill, Chelsea Clinton campaign as pneumonia sidelines Hillary
It almost qualifies to become the latest phrase heard ’round the world. Already five days old, Hillary Clinton’s description of Trump voters as “a basketful of deplorables” continues to be a convenient vehicle for news organizations, pundits, critics and operatives from both sides of the aisle. Hundreds of reports, analyses, op-eds and indignant stories have appeared. And now the offshoots have arrived.
“Hillary calls Trump supporters a ’basket of deplorables.’ Trump calls Hillary supporters a ’basket of deportables,’” notes a headline at Fark.com, the news site famous for its comedic touch.
Politico columnist Glenn Thrush, meanwhile, has declared author Ann Coulter to be the “Doyenne of Deplorables,” citing her recent book “In Trump We Trust” among other factors.
Actor Robert Davi, an ardent Trump supporter, continues to rattle the Twitter realm with his public call to all Americans to take the “deplorable challenge,” and simply embrace their inner deplorability.
“Let’s be deplorable. We’re deplorable because we stand for America first. We want foreign and domestic policy to be America first. We’re deplorable because we stand for the National Anthem. We’re deplorable because we want ’God bless America.’ We’re deplorable because we’re voting Trump/Pence 2016,” Mr. Davi noted in a video, which of course has gone viral.
THE GROWING TRUMP ARMY
SEE ALSO: Pro-Trump super PACs chart new path
Donald Trump recently won the endorsements from 120 retired admirals and generals who praised his support of the military and declared he had “the temperament to be commander in chief.”
That impressive Trump army just got a little bigger. Fourteen Medal of Honor recipients have also endorsed Mr. Trump; they hail from all four branches of the military, and served in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the war on terror.
“These soldiers are the personification of courage under fire; they are the best of us all,” says Mr. Trump. “Their honorable service to our country is an inspiration to every one of us. It is a reminder that America has been the world’s most indispensable nation because of the great character of our people.”
ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
Seventeen Obamacare co-ops have now failed, reports Americans for Tax Reform, which has been tracking the trend for years. No. 17 is Health Republic Insurance of New Jersey, which has announced it would close despite receiving $110 million in taxpayer funded loans, leaving 35,000 members without coverage. The cost of these collapses: $1.8 billion in funds that may never be recovered.
“Co-ops were hyped as not-for-profit alternatives to traditional insurance companies created under Obamacare,” says the tax coalition, which notes that the project has a total price tag $2.4 billion in start-up loans. Only six of the original 23 co-ops now remain.
But there’s some helpful legislation afoot, at least.
“Enrollees on one of the failed co-ops also face the risk of being hit with the Obamacare individual mandate tax penalty for not having insurance. In response to the wave of failed co-ops, the House Committee on Ways and Means recently marked up the CO-OP Consumer Protection Act of 2016, legislation to protect individuals who were on a failed co-op from this tax. This important legislation should now be considered by the full House and swiftly approved,” advises the coalition.
ONE FOR NEIL
His audience missed him. Fox Business Network host Neil Cavuto made a triumphant return to the anchorman’s chair last week scoring his highest rated week ever for “Cavuto Coast to Coast.” Following a medical leave of absence that took him off air for three months, Mr. Cavuto saw his ratings rise 28 percent. In addition, his return marked his first weekly win over his direct programming rival, CNBC’s “Fast Money Halftime Report”.
POLL DU JOUR
• 86 percent of Japanese people have an unfavorable view of Chinese people; 11 percent have favorable view.
• 81 percent of Chinese have an unfavorable view of Japanese; 14 percent have favorable view.
• 81 percent of the Japanese describe the Chinese as “arrogant”; 76 percent say they are “nationalistic,” 71 percent call them “violent.”
• 70 percent of the Chinese describe the Japanese as arrogant; 41 percent say they are nationalistic, 74 percent call them violent.
• 53 percent of Japanese say their nation has “apologized sufficiently” for military actions during the 1930s-40s; 10 percent of Chinese agree.
Source: A Pew Research Center poll of 3,154 Chinese and 1,000 Japanese adults conducted April 6 to May 29 and released Tuesday.
• Doggerel and caterwaul to jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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