When Republican Pennsylvania Senate candidate Mehmet Oz is not talking about âaddicts walking like zombiesâ with âneedles sticking out of their necks,â heâs avoiding condemning gross behavior by his campaign staff.
During a segment of the âKDKA Radio Morning Show,â host Larry Richert asked, âIs it appropriate for one of your folks to say, if Fetterman had eaten a vegetable, he wouldnât have a stroke? Is that appropriate?â
âThe campaignâs been saying lots of things, both of them. My position is that I can only speak to what Iâm saying, and that John Fetterman should be allowed to recover fully,â Oz responded.
He continued, âAnd I will support his ability â as someone who has gone through a difficult time â to get ready.â
However, Oz said, âAt 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.â
Listen to the exchange below:
This is such a slimy response to behavior by a member of his campaign that frankly crossed a line.
Last week, Ozâs senior communications adviser, Rachel Tripp, lobbed a mean-spirited attack at Democratic Pennsylvania Senate hopeful John Fettermanâs health.
In an âexclusive statementâ to Business Insider, Tripp said, âIf John Fetterman had ever eaten a vegetable in his life, then maybe he wouldnât have had a major stroke and wouldnât be in the position of having to lie about it constantly.â
She then tweeted the story with the caption, âAn a dayâŚâ
Fetterman was sidelined from the campaign trail for roughly three months earlier this year after suffering a stroke. Speaking to supporters in August as he returned to campaigning, Fetterman said that he âmight not have made itâ after his stroke, highlighting the severity of the incident.
In his response, Oz acted like Trippâs statement was something she said in her personal capacity. But Business Insider described it as a statement from the campaign and by extension, it is seen as a representation of Ozâs views â not some random personâs comment.
Itâs one thing if Oz does not want to fire Tripp â despite the optics.
But frankly, this is a situation in which an apology is really warranted at the very least.
There would be nothing wrong with simply saying something like, âI want to apologize to Fetterman for that statement. It was really out of line and insensitive, especially with my medical background, and not the tone I want to set for the campaign. I wish the best for Fetterman and his family and hope to see him make a full recovery and canât wait to be on a debate stage with him to discuss our different policies.â
In fact, something like that would have been the decent thing to say.
Instead, he shamefully tried to slither out of showing any remorse or taking responsibility for that atrocious statement.
