I’ve been following the Pennsylvania Senate race just because it’s one of the funniest things to ever happen in modern politics. Democratic candidate John Fetterman is a beloved born-and-bred Pennsylvanian pol who looks like a retired WWE star. He’s running against Dr. Mehmet Oz, a New Jersey resident and clinical whack job. One of the most amazing things about Fetterman is that he’s very sharp, funny and very online. For months, he’s effectively waged a brilliant online campaign against Oz. Is Fetterman kind of sh-tposter? Yes, but I love it. He’s always making fun of Oz and his New Jersey residency on Twitter and Fetterman’s deft political comedy is done perfectly.
So, on Monday – which happened to be Fetterman’s birthday – Oz decided to make a video complaining about inflation and grocery prices. He claimed he was inside a “Wegners” which is a grocery store that does not exist. In the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, there is a Wegmans grocery chain. In Pennsylvania, there is also a Redner’s grocery chain. But “Wegners” does not exist. To make matters worse, Oz is trying to point out the inflation on… crudité. That’s the word he uses.
The ridiculous performance artist that is Mehmet Oz pretends he is grocery shopping for his wife. With someone filming. pic.twitter.com/xVoWqIfH8w
— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) April 6, 2022
My first question is… people eat raw broccoli with guacamole??? Gross. Anyway, Oz is completely ridiculous and Fetterman began clowning on him immediately:
In PA we call this a… veggie tray https://t.co/nDp0Uw27zd
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) August 15, 2022
I never dreamt “Dr. Oz” and “Crudités” would trend nationally on Twitter- on my birthday- but here we are
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) August 15, 2022
Support PA.
Buy Local.
Shop Wegners.
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) August 15, 2022
Photos courtesy of Getty, Avalon Red.
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- CULVER CITY, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – FEBRUARY 12: American-Turkish TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz arrives at Michael Rubin’s Fanatics Super Bowl Party 2022 held at 3Labs on February 12, 2022 in Culver City, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 662027907, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Dr. Mehmet Oz, Credit line: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon
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- CULVER CITY, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – FEBRUARY 12: American-Turkish TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz arrives at Michael Rubin’s Fanatics Super Bowl Party 2022 held at 3Labs on February 12, 2022 in Culver City, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 662027914, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Dr. Mehmet Oz, Credit line: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon
It’s like Oz is trying to lose.
Oz reminds me of Andrew Yang during his New York mayoral campaign. The complete and utter cluelessness.
Careful, @MeganC, that’s what they said about Trump.
Oz tried to make a valid point relevant to millions of Americans.
I like anyone who wears a hoodie on the campaign trail. #manofthepeople
Tbh same. I hadnt even heard of this guy (Canadian, sorry!) but I like the cut of this gib. Oz is such a assclown, love seeing him taken down
Of course Oz is an assclown. He was politically endorsed by non other than the king of assclownery himself Donald Trump. Oz is going to lose the race bigly.
As a Pennsylvanian, I can only hope Oz loses. He is a total asshat and carpetbagger. Anyone should be able to see that. BUT, in a world where tRump was elected president, I have no faith that logic or reason will triumph.
Tell me you haven’t shopped for groceries or prepared your own food for years without telling me…
Right @ Lucy??? And I am thoroughly enjoying Fetterman taking the rug out of under Oz. Maybe Oz should go back to NJ!!
Serious question, but how can Oz run in a state that is not his fixed homestead? This makes no sense to me.
What a f#cking joke Oz is!! BTW Oz you could buy a vegetable tray at the deli in Wegners for less than $20!!
He used his in-laws address to register. And spelled it wrong. 🙂
I hope Fetterman wipes the floor with him.
he did finally buy a place near his in-laws back in Feb (a “farm” so he can claim some tax exemptions) but still hasn’t moved into it b/c it’s still being renovated. I don’t thinks he’s spent a full 24 hours in the state. He’s such a POS
This! Literally LOLing at him not understanding how food prices work. He really thinks one piece of broccoli is $2. More like $.80. Reminds me of Lucille Bluth “it’s a banana Michael, how much could it be, $10?”
“Can you believe this? $5 for 5lbs of carrots?!” Uh, yeah? That’s a sh*t ton of carrots.
Do we think is team is bad or just working to sabotage him?
What do you mean?! Don’t you always shop for “a broccoli”?
and put asparagus on a veggie tray?
*face palm*
also, his go-to expression of smirk-y smug fake-shrug thing he does is so damn annoying. I’d like to slap it right off his face. I hope he loses in a landslide.
I was gonna saw–raw asparagus on a veggie plate? With guacamole? And salsa? What is happening here? WHAT IS HAPPENING?
And tell me you’ve never shopped in PA where you can’t buy liquor in a grocery store, even a made up one 😂 This story has been cracking me up for three days. It is such a bright spot in a dark political world! Can’t wait to vote for Fetterman
I understand that maybe he’s never shopped before, but has he ever eaten?
😂🤣🤣 thanks for the hoot tealily!
LOLOL
Right? And make your own guacamole, it’s cheaper than buying it! Plus, he was over in that ‘fancy’ section of the produce aisle. There will be cheaper options for salsa & everything else elsewhere. Also–who eats raw asparagus?! I guess those same weirdos who eat raw broccoli. With store-bought guac. 😉
Not only do people not eat guac or salsa with raw veggies (Ranch would be most common), but RAW ASPARAGUS??!! And enough carrots for the Queen’s ponies, LOL. The jokes on Twitter have been epic, and Fetterman keeps winning the SM war. I hope PA voters show Oz the door with a flourish!
Did you see his wife’s tweet yesterday about her purse? Not political but poking at her husband a bit. I can’t describe it w/out the photo but it made me lol.
I missed that! *runs off to search Twitter*
It’s been fun watching on Twitter. So Oz buys guac for broccoli and salsa for carrots? His wife, Giselle Fetterman is funny too. Both of them seem like really good people for their state, the work he’s done as a mayor then Lt Gov. And she’s started a free store, yes, free. I’m not from Pa but would vote for Fetterman happily.
@ SF, that’s wonderful that she has given an opportunity for a free store, hopefully in a food desert as well. The lack of food deserts in lower income neighborhoods is depressing. How are people expected to shop when there are so many people that don’t own cars?
Maybe 6 weeks ago, Gisele’s free store had a cross promotion with a national eyeglass chain. More than 100 people got free eye exams and a pair of glasses that Saturday. She was a Dreamer from Brasil and now she gives back to the community 7 days a week, with her signature pre-loved vintage dresses.
I’m not defending Oz in any way but I AM defending raw asparagus and dipping broccoli in guac. That s**t is good. And any raw vegetable is fantastic dipped in ranch. Cardboard is good dipped in ranch.
@ Karen, I can not imagine raw asparagus, so do you blanch it? Now if it’s blanched, I could get behind that.
if it’s fresh & in season (this is not asparagus season), it’s like an al dente texture. I chop it up to put in salad
I love raw asparagus. But you’re correct, it needs to be fresh and in season. Raw broccoli is a big”no” for me though. I like the taste but I hate the texture. No amount of ranch dressing can fix that problem.
“Cardboard is good dipped in ranch.”
Thank you for that giggle, Karen!
I live in PA and im petrified. besides OZ DOESNT EVEN LIVE HERE, he is a malevolent whack job.
“HE DOESN’T EVEN GO HERE!” 🙂 🙂 🙂
Seriously, residency requirements for politicians seem to be mostly more like polite suggestions than actual rules.
That is what I don’t understand. I hope Pennsylvanians kick his super white ass to the curb….
How could you possibly run in a state and understand their own needed representation. This should be illegal.
Oregonian here and I think we might be one of the few states that actually takes residency seriously. We had a New York Times columnist trying to run for governor that got told by the Secretary of State/courts to take a hike because he didn’t meet our requirements. No, growing up in Oregon and owning property here does not cut it, buddy.
Thin, skinny, very fresh asparagus are great dipped in ranch or blue cheese. Big fat ones are so awesome on the grill and drenched in garlic butter. Dr Oz is an embarrassment. Go Fetterman.
Personally I prefer Wegmans over Wegners. Wegmans has a nice selection of pre-made family meals. Always like to buy when I don’t have time to cook. Wegners, on the other hand, is a snooty out of touch grocery store that tries to overstep its boundaries by setting up shop in a state that it has never been in before, claim that it has been there all along, and then sell hackneyed sugar pills while pushing pseudoscientific medical advice. Two completely different shopping experience at these two places.
I can’t tell if you’re riffing on Oz’s combination of the two store names or if you accidentally did the same thing referencing Wegner’s instead of Redners. Wegman’s is a nicer store with a much wider selection and, compared to the Redner’s in my area, much better quality produce. It is also more expensive. Thanks to Wegmans coming to this area around 15-20 years ago, the other local stores (specifically Giant) have really upped their game in offerings especially with regard to items that used to only be found in natural/whole food stores.
Sorry! I was trying to compare Mehmet Oz’s “Wegners” faux pas to the man himself. Apologize if my joke didn’t hit. I sometimes shop at Wegmans too when I am in Maryland. I didn’t misspeak about Wegmans. It does have a nice selection of food options that I take advantage of and the staff is very friendly. IMO, Wegmans is also better than some of the organic food stores around here. Also just found out that they’re opening a Wegmans in NYC! I never heard of or shopped at Redner. Never came across a Redner in NYC or Maryland.
I think Redners is local to PA. I only learned about it when I moved Northwest fo the city. Once Wegmans finally made it into PA, the rest of the grocery chains had to really improve to keep customers so it’s been helpful all around (especially since Wegmans is a bit more expensive)
@Mireille, say what you will about Wegner’s but their selection of tequilas and other spirits is quite impressive.
(Anyone from PA knows you can’t buy tequila in a grocery store here)
Grossest veggie tray ever. And no tequila to even wash it down with??
Rather than blame the President, I’ll just avoid the Oz’s social engagements altogether.
The way he’s trolling him is epic.
Good ole Oz. The broc & guac candidate. I hope he loses.
I heard Wegner’s has great covfefe.
THIS!!!!! Yes!!!
THAT… was a good one.
And their hamberders are to die for!!!1!!
Lol too funny
LMAO I too have a camera team with me when shopping for toilet paper.
Okay for real though, inflation is hitting so many people really hard but you don’t make a point of that by trying to appear with the people and shopping … “cruditè”. Also, make the damn guac and salsa yourself. WTF. This is worse than when politicians are asked the price of butter.
@ Emmi, yes!! If he knew how to cook, or how guacamole and salsa should taste, he could save himself $8 and buy the ingredients himself.
As for the prices in the store, they are so many factors at play that affect the costs associated with the prices. The transportation costs is the driving factor. Many stores don’t eat the costs and pass them down. The fact that gas prices has receded is a bonus as the transportation should start to reflect lower prices at the stores as well.
Sorry Oz-hat, but refrigerated fresh salsa and pre-made guac for $6 and $4 sounds just about right, even in Ye Olden Days of Trump. Can you imagine if Oz did his gag at Whole Foods, where both are about $10 each? He’d have spent $80 for his crudite tray and week’s supply of horse carrots and blamed Joe Biden for it.
And that broccoli was probably marked $2 a pound, so that single head he picked up was probably worth sixty cents. What a clown. Guaranteed he has lost that important grocery-shopper vote.
Yes! Inflation is a worldwide issue now, due in no small part to the damn pandemic, neither of which is Biden’s fault.
Make your own guac, yes. But you can pry my jar of Newman’s Own peach salsa out of my cold dead hands. That stuff is delicious.
LOL Okay, that’s fair. We don’t have that here but it sounds delicious.
I’m still laughing after watching the video and reading Kaiser’s take about 6 times. WaPo has a good one as well: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/15/good-news-crudit-lovers-pennsylvania-salsa-prices-have-dropped/
As a political consultant and former campaign manager… and average human voter – this has totally made my day.
Fetterman is effortlessly relatable. Oz should stick to what he knows… the cost of travel from NJ to (all of) PA for campaign purposes. PA is big! He’s not used to that.
No he isn’t. Maybe he should live in Pennsylvania to make his travels easier….just saying 🤷🏻♀️
Maybe he should just stay out of PA and stay home in NJ and leave public service to those who actually want to serve.
This video actually happened back in April (which you can see on the original tweeter’s post) and it’s unclear why it resurfaced yesterday. But it absolutely made my day, so no complaints. Fetterman’s twitter account is fire.
Oh my gosh, thank you! I could have sworn I saw this a long time ago. I thought I was going crazy!
I live in Texas but I have given Fetterman donations for his run. We need more liberal Governor’s so I am really supporting those races. I have always liked Fetterman, he is no nonsense and will fight for what is right. Fingers crossed for him and Beto!
Just to clarify, Fetterman & Oz are running for Pat Toomey’s Senate seat.
Here in PA, I think it’s likely (but not a sure thing) that Shapiro will beat Mastriano for Governor who will make DeSantis & Abbott seem like amateurs to the Christofascist set. Unfortunately, PA GOP was Christofascist before it was “cool” to be Christofascist so there’s still a possibility that even if Shapiro wins, he could be hobbled by the state legislature if GQP gets enough seats to override vetos. We need people to take their state & local elections more seriously, it’s more than making sure the Governor isn’t a fascist, they need to refuse to vote for fascists in lesser races too
Oz is such a opportunist. He saw an opportunity to get into government in PA and jumped on it. He doesn’t live there and has no ties other than wanting power. He knows that he couldn’t go against the senators in the state where he lives. Senator Menendez and Senator Booker actually LIVE in New Jersey and believe in public service unlike Oz.
I hope that the citizens of PA come through and vote for Mr. Fetterman and make him their next U.S. Senator.
Guacamole and Salsa for a crudité? Embarazzasing.
He knew he wouldn’t have a shot at getting elected in NJ. PA is more of a swing state. He’s a carpetbagger, pure and simple.
Fetterman is leading in the polls, but those don’t mean much. I just hope PA shows up and votes Blue.
The debate over the word “crudité” yesterday on Twitter was hilarious. Many people had never heard of it and were arguing over its existence lol. I’ve heard of the word since forever as I speak French fluently but I knew that it was a word used for veggie trays at parties, it’s the word the French use for it and some Americans also use it as such though I think most people say veggie tray. It is not a word the French use to refer to vegetables though, that’s a different word. But I’ve never heard of salsa and guacamole to dip veggies in and I’ve never seen them part of a crudité platter which is what people were vigorously debating.
A Wegman’s opened up about 25 minutes away from me last year and I was in the area, I went for a looksie because being from downstate NY (Westchester is not upstate for any NYC residents and I will die on that hill) and hearing so much about it from my upstate NY relatives, I was skeptical of its nirvana like status. After walking through, I totally get it. Not just the wide variety of items, but the prepared food section is amazing. If I lived near one, I would probably be buying dinner from there every single weekend.
As for Oz, I still don’t understand how he’s running for senator in a state he doesn’t live in.
I grew up in small town America and I’ve known what crudité was since I was a kid. It may be a French word but it’s not an uncommon one in America. I was really surprised most people on Twitter didn’t know. Veggie platter is actually new-ish to me. The first time I’d heard it was maybe 10-15 years ago when it became popular for grocery stores to sell them.
Commenting just to say that you are 100% right on Westchester = downstate. Represent!
My first reaction: Ewwwwwwww! He looks like a gray sweaty corpse in that top photo. Can’t stand that gas bag.
That was my first thought, that he looked sweaty and his color was really bad. Maybe the stress of running in a state where you don’t live is getting to him.
Actually, there is a grocery outlet called Wenger’s. It is just outside of Mifflinburg, PA.
Correct. There is, but he wasn’t at that one (there is only one) and he says he’s at ‘Wegner’s’… according to WaPo he meant to say Redners… which is a chain and there is one just inside the PA border from NJ. So instead what we got was a hybrid of Redner’s and Wegman’s… which are both real, but Wegner’s IS NOT.
Maybe his mind is slipping and he was thinking of Wegener’s granulomatosis, something every medical student learns about.
And you can see the Redner’s sign behind him in the video. He even hesitated for a beat after he said it- he knew he was wrong. They couldn’t bother to do another take 😂
I’m sure that WAS the best take. 🤣
1. Wegman’s is more expensive than many other grocery stores. I love it there, but shopping there instead of ShopRite means items will be more expensive.
2. Inflation is a worldwide issue right now, how is Dr. Oz gonna fix it exactly?
I don’t get to go to Wegman’s often, but their store brand stuff is usually pretty reasonable. I much prefer their stores to ShopRite, but the closest one is like 45 minutes away from me :(. The worst here is Acme, so expensive unless something is on a good sale.
Sounds like you’re both in my neck of the woods. ShopRite is fine but Wegman’s is really terrific – closest to me is about 40 minutes and for holidays and special occasions I’ll drive there and back b/c it’s worth it. I like King’s but that’s even further away.
As for Oz, I have a colleague who was/is his patient and he saved her life so it’s so odd to me that he went from that to this.
The majority of doctors serving in Congress are republicans. It’s no small wonder that I have trouble trusting that profession anymore. Whoever identifies as republican these days tells me all I need to know about their moral center and priorities.
I used to love Dr Oz, I met him a few years ago when a friend of mine was on one of his segments. He was so nice. Now I donate to Fetterman’s campaign because Oz has gone rabid. He did an ad yesterday against Fetterman making fun of Fetterman for wanting universal healthcare. Imagine a doctor not wanting you to have access to affordable health care?? The GOP just pulled five million dollars OUT of his race because they know he’s a dud and using it elsewhere. Fetterman is 10 points ahead of Oz in all the polls.
I guess I would dip veggies in guacamole if I were on a strict no-carb diet or something, but when it comes to guac, chips really are irreplaceable.
I’ve heard the term “crudite” because my mother sometimes used it. She was into French cooking (Julia Child era) and just likes to use French words because she lived there for about six months as a teenager and was besotted with it.
That said, it’s definitely not a term a PA Senate candidate should be throwing around on a campaign ad. Has he SEEN “Mare Of Easttown?” He should have shot a campaign ad at WaWa and just said his wife was jonesing for a hoagie so he stopped in to get some. Even if you’re into fancy food, you don’t admit it. Dolt.
I really really like this Fetterman guy. Snarking on Oz is absolutely the right strategy, especially if you can do it as well as he can. Make the guy look silly and effete and out-of-touch. It’s perfect.
I agree with everything you said, and I want to add that he must not have professionals running his campaign because how did they ever let him post that absurd video?
Tbh if he’s tying to appeal to gop voters shouldn’t he have filmed in Weis Market?
??????????????????? I don’t understand the reference, Chaine.
I’m only here to say Wegmans is the best grocery store!!!! I can never live in a place that’s not near a wegmans. Also Dr Oz is a tool.
I live in the Philly area and love John and Gisele Fetterman. The campaign is brilliant and they are the real deal. She was an immigrant and talks about her experiences being scared of coming home from school to find her mother gone, taken by INS (https://www.teenvogue.com/story/gisele-fetterman-free-store) and, you may recall, that he was one of the first people to find voter fraud in the 2020 election (all MAGA) and demanded Dan Patrick pay up (https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/12/pa-lt-gov-takes-to-twitter-asking-texas-counterpart-to-pay-3-million-for-the-states-3-voter-fraud-cases.html). At one point Fetterman even said he’d take the money in Sheetz gift cards (Sheetz is a gas station/convenience store). Even their dog, Levi, is rescued and awesome.
After the circus of the past 6+ years, if he doesn’t completely restore my faith in politicians, he fixes it somewhat.
“ At one point Fetterman even said he’d take the money in Sheetz gift cards (Sheetz is a gas station/convenience store)…”
🤣🤣🤣🤣 Good man!
I’d take it in gift cards too. Sheetz and Wawa are the best! I live in New England now and people rave Cumberland Farms but no comparison if you’re on a road trip and need sustenance.
I love Fetterman so freaking much. Been following him for years and he was great during the Trump presidency. I CANNOT WAIT to cast my vote for both him and Josh Shapiro this election
Fetterman was a tour de force after the 2020 elections, keeping tabs on every county’s election results. “If ifs and buts were candy and nuts Trump would be on deck for a much better Thanksgiving.” Trump threatens to sue so John replies ” he can sue a ham sandwich. Math doesn’t care about feelings.”
I just want Fetterman 100% healthy, we need that 51st vote.
“a” broccoli. lolz.