Dr Oz campaign says if Fetterman had ‘ever eaten a vegetable in his life,’ he wouldn’t have had a stroke
The remarks are the latest barbs in the intensely personal Pennsylvania Senate race
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Republican Pennsylvania Senate candidate Mehmet Oz’s campaign mocked John Fetterman for having suffered a stroke earlier this year, saying that if his Democratic opponent had eaten vegetables, he would not have had one.
Rachel Tripp, a communications adviser to the Oz campaign, spoke to Business Insider in response to a question about the infamous video of Dr Oz shopping for crudité. Dr Oz was relentlessly mocked on social media for the video, where he mixed up the names of Redner’s and Wegmans grocery stories and said “Wenger’s,” which led to Mr Fetterman raising money off of it.
“If John Fetterman had ever eaten a vegetable in his life, then maybe he wouldn't have had a major stroke and wouldn't be in the position of having to lie about it constantly,” she said.
Mr Fetterman suffered a stroke shortly before the Democratic Senate primary to replace retiring Republican Senator Pat Toomey. While Mr Fetterman handily beat Representative Conor Lamb and state legislator Malcolm Kenyatta, Dr Oz narrowly won a tight and bruising primary against hedge fund executive Dave McCormick and Kathy Barnette.
This came despite the fact that former president Donald Trump, who remains popular among Pennsylvania Republicans, endorsed Dr Oz. But Rolling Stone reported that Mr Trump has said that Dr Oz will “f***ing lose.”
In response, Mr Fetterman’s campaign released a letter from 109 physicians criticising Dr Oz for promoting pseudoscience on his television show for years.
Mr Fetterman’s campaign has consistently mocked his Republican opponent for not living in Pennsylvania but rather neighbouring New Jersey. He’s also criticised Dr Oz for saying that he owns two homes when he actually owns 10.
Most polls show that Mr Fetterman, the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, is leading in the Senate race. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report recently changed its rating for the race from “Toss up” to “Leans Democratic.”
Democrats are defending their 50-50 Senate majority – where Vice President Kamala Harris often breaks ties – and see Pennsylvania as one of their best chances to flip a Senate seat.
Mr Trump will hold a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania with both Dr Oz and Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor in the commonwealth.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments