Dr. Oz rips Lt. Gov. John Fetterman for ‘dodging’ Senate race debates
Dr. Mehmet Oz ripped Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman on Wednesday for “dodging” debates amid their dogfight US Senate race — as he accused his Democratic rival of being too scared to take him on.
The Republican nominee has repeatedly ridiculed Democrat Fetterman for declining to take him on face to face during the campaign and questioned the lieutenant governor’s ongoing health woes as he continues to recover from a debilitating stroke.
Oz, the former host of daytime TV’s “Dr. Oz Show,” has contended that Fetterman is hiding, refusing to commit to a debate and has conducted just two media interviews since the stroke.
Oz — who, despite Fetterman’s lack of public appearances, is trailing in polls — on Tuesday issued a list of “concessions” his campaign was willing to make to secure a debate, including a sarcastic vow not to intentionally “hurt John’s feelings” and to “pay for any additional medical personnel he might need to have on standby.”
His campaign followed up Wednesday with a list of reasons Fetterman was pulling out of the debates, including that it “might accidentally reveal a health condition that’s worse than previously disclosed.”
“No matter what the reason is, John Fetterman is still too crazy to be Pennsylvania’s next United States senator,” Oz’s campaign said.
In a phone call Wednesday to the Associated Press, an aide to the Republican nominee questioned whether Fetterman was “too sick to debate” — a suggestion brushed off by Fetterman’s campaign as Oz pushes for a televised debate Sept. 6.
The increasingly pointed and personal barbs come as Oz is trailing Fetterman in polls in the November matchup that could help decide Senate control. The lieutenant governor, who only returned to the campaign trail earlier this month, fired back and accused his GOP opponent of thinking it was “funny to mock a stroke survivor.”
“I will not be participating in a debate the first week of September, but look forward to having a productive discussion about how we can move forward and have a real conversation on this once Dr. Oz and his team are ready to take this seriously,” Fetterman’s statement said.
“I’ve been traveling the commonwealth talking to voters about my vision and ideas for nearly a decade. I’m proud of my record as mayor and as Lieutenant Governor and I’m eager to put my record and my values up against Dr. Oz’s any day of the week.
“As I recover from this stroke and improve my auditory processing and speech, I look forward to continuing to meet with the people of Pennsylvania. They’ll always know where I stand,” he continued.
Oz’s stepped-up claims about Fetterman’s health may reflect a vulnerability for the Democrat. Party officials had initially been nervous about Fetterman’s disappearance from the campaign for nearly three months while he was on the mend. But they insist they are confident he is fully capable of running — and Fetterman says he wouldn’t be in the race if he weren’t able to campaign and win.
Fetterman and Oz are battling it out for the seat of departing GOP Sen. Pat Toomey.
With Post wires