Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz is trying to explain parts of a video that was roundly mocked online.
During an appearance on Newsmax, the celebrity surgeon, commonly known as Dr. Oz, faced questions about the recently resurfaced video in which he used the word âcruditĂ©â and messed up the name of the grocery store he was shopping in.
âWhen I joke about a cruditĂ© which is a way of speaking about how ridiculous it is that you canât even put vegetables on a plate in the middle of a campaign, weâll do whatever we need to do to make sure the people of Pennsylvania respect what weâre about, and weâre going to work as hard as we can to fix their problems,â Oz said.
Watch the video below:
But that was not the only part of the video that required some clarification.
The host asked, âFor those watching in Pennsylvania, you know how particular many people are about their groceries. What happened with Wegmanâs and Wegnerâs? Can you explain that to them?â
âI was exhausted. When youâre campaigning 18 hours a dayâŠlisten, Iâve gotten my kidsâ names wrong as well. I donât think thatâs a measure of someoneâs ability to lead the commonwealth,â Oz said.
Oz is not running to âleadâ Pennsylvania as its governor.
The exchange comes after Ozâs Democratic opponent brought the video in which he appeared in a grocery store to shop for vegetables for âcruditĂ©â back to light.
He also seemed to combine the names of Wegmans and Rednerâs and said he was shopping at âWegnerâsâ in the clip.
âIâm at Wegnerâs, and my wife wants vegetables for cruditĂ©,â Oz says in the video.
In case you missed it:
Of course, itâs not new that candidates misspeak on the campaign trail. But this video and using the word âcruditĂ©â while mixing up the name of the store he was in only feeds into the narrative that Oz is an out-of-touch candidate, who owns 10 homes, and doesnât understand the issues facing Pennsylvania residents.
Itâs worth pointing out that Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the Democratic Senate candidate, does not exactly come from a working-class background either. It was reported earlier this year that Fetterman received a five-figure annual allowance from his parents into his 40s.
Thereâs nothing inherently wrong with coming from a wealthy background and running for office.
But it doesnât help if youâre using words like âcruditĂ©,â messing up the name of the store youâre in, and claiming youâre running to âleadâ the state as a senator, while your opponent wears hoodies and shorts to help craft his image of a working-class fighter.
