Dr. Oz Weakly Dodges On Campaign Staff Mocking John Fetterman For Having a Stroke
Photo by Riccardo Savi/Getty Images for Concordia Summit
Dr. Mehmet Oz chose not to reprimand his team for insulting John Fetterman and mocking him for having a stroke.
Oz appeared on the KDKA Radio Morning Show with Larry Richert, where he once again dismissed how Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) recently snarked at his quality as a political candidate. As Oz dismissed the idea that his bid for the Senate is in trouble, he was eventually questioned on how the rhetorical battle between him and Fetterman has grown increasingly nasty.
At one point in the interview, Richert asked Oz about a meme he recently saw where Fetterman was depicted in a wheelchair, “his face looks as if he’s having serious problems,” and it was captioned “Tom Wolf’s favorite vegetable.” Asked if that was “too low,” Oz answered “yes,” that “I have tremendous empathy for what John Fetterman’s going through,” and that his primary interest is in challenging Fetterman on policy.
The war of words between the Oz and Fetterman camps recently hit a new low when Oz’s senior communications advisor, Rachel Tripp, threw out a personal insult about Fetterman’s health during a conversation with reporters.
“If John Fetterman had ever eaten a vegetable in his life,” said Tripp, “then maybe he wouldn’t have had a major stroke and wouldn’t be in the position of having to lie about it constantly.”
Richert asked if that was “appropriate,” but Oz chose not to answer the question directly:
The campaign’s been saying lots of things, both of them. My position is that I can only speak to what I’m saying, and that John Fetterman should be allowed to recovery fully, and I will support his ability — as someone who has gone through a difficult time — to get ready. However, at some point, he has to either work with me to allow the American people and Pennsylvania voters to hear us debate so they can see where I am and where he is.
Listen above (start at 4:40) via KDKA.
