There have been countless creative missteps in the congressional campaign of Dr. Mehmet Oz, but one was so bad it hurt him twice: His surreally misguided video about supermarket-shopping for “crudité.” He recorded it in April, and John Oliver was quick to demolish it. It was back in the news four months later as a late summer surprise, embarrassing Oz even more the second time. But it appears the TV star-turned-flailing candidate wants to keep it in the news, while showing what insensitive jerks he and his staff can be.
"If John Fetterman had ever eaten a vegetable in his life, then maybe he wouldn't have had a major stroke," Dr. Oz's campaign says. https://t.co/djQMLxOwmQ
— Natalie Allison (@natalie_allison) August 23, 2022
A week after the crudité video once again humiliated Oz, his campaign belatedly provided a what they appeared to think was a quippy comeback. But it wasn’t funny, not even by the trash-talking standards of a Trump-emulating politico.
“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,” Rachel Tripp, Oz’s senior communications advisor, told Insider in a statement.
It’s a jaw-dropping retort from several angles. For one, does Oz even know the Republican base, let alone scrapple-loving Pennsylvanians? If anyone found it funny, it wasn’t because they thought it was some brutal put-down. Instead, it was widely seen as yet another Clouseau-esque blunder by one of the worst political campaigns in memory.
Some pointed out that a doctor, even one as questionable as Dr. Oz, probably shouldn’t be joking about someone having a stroke.
So apparently Doctor Oz doesn’t know that folks can have strokes due to pre existing conditions that have nothing to do with diet?! https://t.co/wOv2bzLios
— Atima Omara (@atima_omara) August 23, 2022
The classic way that doctors talk https://t.co/jPnWcBVGiE
— Tom Gara (@tomgara) August 23, 2022
if this is medical advice, Oz has already made clear that he doesn't stand behind any he's given in the pasthttps://t.co/qPdU8gBcjM https://t.co/NkiSCgBZw1 pic.twitter.com/epsttNMdAA
— Chris D'Angelo (@c_m_dangelo) August 23, 2022
Others thought it showed he was a bad candidate.
Did he… did he think people were going to cheer him on for this one https://t.co/AWRXBk9KDX
— Sara Pequeño (@sara__pequeno) August 23, 2022
this is generally not how you come back from a 10-15 percentage point deficit in the polls https://t.co/kCyafddGvW
— G. Elliott Morris (@gelliottmorris) August 23, 2022
If Fetterman wins, all the analyses over why he won will be confounded by Oz's insistence on shooting himself in the face for no reason every few days. https://t.co/uM7Un35b2a
— Zeeshan Aleem (@ZeeshanAleem) August 23, 2022
Yes, truly the way to make Fetterman look bad is to say that he eats too much red meat. Oz has his finger on the pulse. https://t.co/cbEAL7wLps
— Jeff Fecke (@jkfecke) August 23, 2022
Step 1: release a bizarre video demonstrating that your candidate appears totally unfamiliar with the basics of grocery shopping
Step 2: as story is dying down, send out a deeply offensive quote that guarantees the story will be prolonged another week
Great work, folks https://t.co/ctGBKgHNNN
— Leah Greenberg (@Leahgreenb) August 23, 2022
Others argued he was a bad (alleged) Pennsylvanian, who should know better than to insult the heart of the Snack Belt, and who’s already been roasted by one of Philadelphia’s legendary cheesesteak joints. (At least he didn’t insult Primanti Bros.)
I'm sure this response will go over well in the land of the Philly cheesesteak https://t.co/KblujuJCts
— Thor Benson (@thor_benson) August 23, 2022
Not sure this is a winning line of attack in the state that brought you Primanti Brothers and scrapple. https://t.co/JHftK3eU6x
— Tim Marchman (@timmarchman) August 23, 2022
“My opponent has a vascular disease, making him unfit to govern the state of the noble pork roll, egg & cheese” https://t.co/O6ONpdoUUF
— CHOAM Nomsky (@samthielman) August 23, 2022
They eat this in PA my guy.
Also, FFS man, what is wrong with you? https://t.co/IHJjFzXucF pic.twitter.com/NBJYJbbFej
— Whey Standard (@Whey_standard) August 23, 2022
Way to lock down all those Trump supporting PA vegetable nuts, Oz. https://t.co/fFOoeg16ra
— Katie MacBride (@msmacb) August 23, 2022
Oz should definitely go to western Pennsylvania Union halls and keep repeating this. https://t.co/UvLYuOeopI
— Stephen Webber (@s_webber) August 23, 2022
this is also the line of attack I would use in a state where people put french fries in their salads https://t.co/YvLG2xt76i
— Sonny Bunch (@SonnyBunch) August 23, 2022
Some called Oz and his campaign staff bad people.
Oz and/or his staff are really bad at this. The objective is a witty jab. This is simply juvenile and nasty. https://t.co/2bWGB7vMpk
— Steve Metz (@steven_metz) August 23, 2022
Keeping it classy https://t.co/lUl1l8M7y4
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) August 23, 2022
There were assorted jokes.
For someone who claims to hate socialism, Dr. Oz sure seems to love being publicly owned. https://t.co/NY8gMW6Tz2
— Chad Loder (@chadloder) August 23, 2022
"Well the jerk store called, they're running out of you!" https://t.co/MeQjUpZ24n
— Will Bunch (@Will_Bunch) August 23, 2022
And by the way, Election Day isn’t even until November.
still three months left in this election huh https://t.co/d3NGQNJkHp
— Trevor J. Mitchell (@TJM613) August 23, 2022
In the meantime, such bizarre antics aren’t going to make the GOP, including its fearless semi-leader, any less mad.
Update: Hours after the quote went live, Fetterman himself weighed in, offering a sincere but forceful condemnation of the Oz team’s classy attack. “I had a stroke. I survived it. I’m truly so grateful to still be here today,” he tweeted. “I know politics can be nasty, but even then, I could *never* imagine ridiculing someone for their health challenges.”
I had a stroke. I survived it. I'm truly so grateful to still be here today.
I know politics can be nasty, but even then, I could *never* imagine ridiculing someone for their health challenges. pic.twitter.com/0fJHESjt4l
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) August 24, 2022
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