For the first time since an old video of him shopping for crudité went viral, Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz has spoken out.
“I’m at Wegner’s,” Oz says in the video, apparently mixing the names of two separate grocery chains, Wegmans and Redner’s. (Signs in the background of the video clearly indicate he’s at Redner’s).
Asked on Newsmax yesterday about his confusion Oz replied, “I was exhausted. When you’re campaigning 18 hours a day…Listen, I’ve gotten my kids’ names wrong, as well. I don’t think that’s a measure of someone’s ability to lead the Commonwealth.”
That gaffe alone may have been just a minor political blip, but Oz also used a very effete-sounding word in the video that may Pennsylvanians — and most Americans — may not know.
“My wife wants some vegetables for a crudité, right?” Oz says while moving down the aisle and bemoaning the price of the produce he’s collected.
“Guys, that’s $20 for a crudité and that doesn’t include the tequila. I mean, that’s outrageous. And we got Joe Biden to thank for this,” he says.
Inflation is hurting American families. Under Joe Biden, gas prices are skyrocketing and food prices are rising. We must stop the reckless spending. This is outrageous! Thanks a lot, Joe. pic.twitter.com/8kNil6upn8
— Dr. Mehmet Oz (@DrOz) April 6, 2022
The former talk show host has been savaged on social media this week for the video, with opponent John Fetterman pointing out that most Pennsylvanians would simply call Oz’s planned meal “a veggie tray” and leave it at that. Others suggested that Pennsylvanians might be more apt to choose a six pack of Yuengling over tequila.
“When I joke about a crudité,” Oz tried to explain on Newsmax, it “is a way of speaking about how ridiculous it is that you can’t even put vegetables on a plate in the middle of a campaign.”
He then pledged, “We’ll do whatever we need to do to make sure the people of Pennsylvania respect what we’re about and we’re going to work as hard as we can to fix their problems. It’s what I’ve done my whole life. I challenge my opponent: What have you done in your life to make things better for the people of Pennsylvania?”
But as Oz addressed Cruditégate, more virtual storm clouds gathered online.
There’s been a running criticism of Oz — a longtime resident of New Jersey who has dual U.S.-Turkish citizenship and was born in Ohio but did not own a home in PA — that says he’s used his in-laws address to run for the Keystone State’s open Senate seat.
Today, Fetterman dropped a video on social media that seems to show Oz, when asked, saying he owns two houses. The video then goes on allege he actually owns 10 homes.
Dr. Oz claimed he has only two houses. Survey says…. pic.twitter.com/CLJbhQCH7U
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) August 17, 2022
According to the Associated Press, Oz himself listed at least 5 homes in the financial disclosure forms he filed this spring. He also listed his assets at between $100M – $400M.
That’s a huge range, but whatever the case, it’d buy a lot of crudité.