Dr. Oz's primary challenger and his wife said in meeting with Trump that Oz's Muslim background was a liability: NYT report

The New York Times reported that David and his wife met with Donald Trump and suggested that Mehmet Oz's Muslim background would be a political liability in the Pennsylvania US Senate race.

According to The Times, the man running against Oz in Pennsylvania for a seat in the US Senate has been trying to get Trump to endorse him. The meeting took place a year ago.

Oz and McCormick entered the race in the same year. Both are Republicans.

Dina Powell McCormick was a senior national security official in the Trump administration.

Four anonymous sources told The Times that Powell McCormick, an Egyptian-born Coptic Christian, showed Trump a photo of Oz with a group that included some people wearing Islamic head coverings.

According to the Times, the couple made the case that Oz's Muslim background was a political liability.

Oz has been questioned over his dual US and Turkish citizenship since announcing his bid for Senate. Critics want him to give up his Turkish citizenship because of his loyalty to the US. Oz said on Wednesday that he would give up his Turkish citizenship if elected.

The Times was told by the campaign that they never mentioned Oz's religion in the meeting with Trump.

The campaigns did not respond to the request for comment.

In a statement to The Times, Jess Szymanski said that the reports on Powell McCormick's remarks to Trump were false and that the candidate's wife who fled the Middle East to escape religious persecution is an Arab-American.

She said the reports were designed to distract from the legitimate national security concerns about Oz.