John Fetterman, Mehmet Oz.Photo: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Bonnie Biess/Getty
John Fettermanhad abit of fun— andraised a lot of money— with a viral video ofDr. Mehmet Oz’speculiar shopping trip for cruditésat a so-called “Wegners” supermarket.
“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 adviser,told Insider in an interview.
Lt. Gov. Fetterman, 53,suffered a strokedays before Pennsylvania’s Democratic primary in May and underwent a procedure to implant a pacemaker with a defibrillator. His doctor laterrevealedhe has atrial fibrillation, which caused the stroke, and cardiomyopathy, which is why he got the implant.
Earlier this month, Fettermanreturned to the campaign trailand told supporters he was “grateful” and “feeling great, better than I have in years” in an emotional speech.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty
Fetterman responded to the Oz campaign’s swipe at his stroke in apost on Twitter.
“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.”
In Oz’s now-infamous video, the celebrity doctor appeared at Redner’s, a Pennsylvania-based supermarket company that he mistakenly called “Wegners.” Oz, whohas the supportof former PresidentDonald Trump, said he wanted to get ingredients for his wife to make crudités, and he began grabbing items off the shelves, including broccoli, asparagus and carrots, totaling $10.
Dr. Mehmet Oz/Twitter
He then grabbed guacamole and a tub of fresh salsa, bringing the total up. “Guys, that’s $20 for crudités and this doesn’t include the tequila,” Oz said. “This is outrageous and we’ve got Joe Biden to thank for this.”
Fetterman used the video to tap into a larger theme of his rivalry with Oz, whom he’s relentlessly called out for being an out-of-touch transplant from New Jersey.
“In PA we call this a… veggie tray,” Fettermanwrote on TwitterAug. 15, emphasizing Oz’s fancy term for a platter of vegetables.
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Fetterman — who’scurrently in the lead,according to a recent poll— even offered up alimited-edition sticker"to honor Dr. Oz’s love for crudité and Wegners" for contributors to his campaign.
source: people.com
