For months, John Fetterman has been ruthlessly trolling Dr. Oz, his opponent in the Pennsylvania congressional race. A lot of his attacks have involved his lack of Pennsylvania bona fides, reminding locals that he only semi-recently moved from New Jersey, seemingly only because of its open Senate seat. But sometimes other people do the Oz dragging for Fetterman.
Who thought this was a good idea pic.twitter.com/dj5nz7vB1W
— umichvoter (@umichvoter) August 15, 2022
On Monday, an older clip — which had already been trounced by John Oliver back in April — made the rounds again. In a video Oz uploaded to his Instagram, the former TV star roams about a supermarket in the Keystone State, complaining about the prices as he gathers ingredients for a crudité platter, in an attempt to shame Presdient Joe Biden for rising costs.
As Oliver noted a few months back, there’s a lot to unpack here. For one, he gets the name of the place wrong. He calls it “Wegner’s” — a portmanteau of the high-end chain Wegman’s and the smaller Redner’s. (He’s in the latter.) For another, he’s making one of the weirdest crudité platters imaginable, with raw asparagus, a huge chunk of broccoli, and no hummus. That’s not to ignore that he’s shopping for crudité — hardly a salt-of-the-earth foodstuff.
Now, months later, the older video has gone viral all over again. And who was more than happy to take advantage of that? His opponent.
In PA we call this a… veggie tray https://t.co/nDp0Uw27zd
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) August 15, 2022
Support PA.
Buy Local.
Shop Wegners.
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) August 15, 2022
I see for myself how expensive groceries are whenever G + I go to Giant Eagle or Aldi’s
Dr. Oz does NOT have a plan to bring these prices down, but I do.
Strengthen supply chains + crack down on corporate price gouging + make more sh*t in America https://t.co/JRd0cxxOt2
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) August 15, 2022
Fetterman got in repeated jabs, He mocked him for calling Redner’s “Wegner’s.” He pointed out that Pennsylvanians have a simpler name for what he’s preparing: It’s just called a veggie tray. And he claimed he actually had a plan for lowering prices.
“I see for myself how expensive groceries are whenever G + I go to Giant Eagle or Aldi’s,” Fetterman tweeted. “Dr. Oz does NOT have a plan to bring these prices down, but I do. Strengthen supply chains + crack down on corporate price gouging + make more sh*t in America.”
Lots of others got in on the Dr. Oz dragging, some cracking jokes about him trying to connect with everyday, struggling Americans by making crudité.
Lol. Why is my crudite so expensive!!!
This man has really lost touch. https://t.co/LIFklXSKCt— Soledad O’Brien (@soledadobrien) August 15, 2022
My grandfather once told me that crudité was his favorite thing to eat after a long, hard day in the steel mill pic.twitter.com/aZH9hrQ2L3
— Mike Mikus (@MikeMikusPA) August 15, 2022
Issues with Oz’s ‘Everyday Guy’ Ad:
1. He doesn’t know the correct name of the store
2. He uses the word ‘crudités’
3. He can’t properly read the prices
4. He doesn’t know what to get and in what quantities (the servants normally shop)
5. It’s a crudité platter with raw asparagus— Allan Lane (@AllanCLane) August 15, 2022
I’m not sure “Joe Biden has put crudite out of reach for average Americans” is quite the winning message that Oz and some boneheaded consultant thought it was. #Manofthecrudite #MakeAmericaCruditeAgain #LandofOz https://t.co/HrrqQ9VVkX
— Lisa Senecal (@lcsenecal) August 15, 2022
yep this man on the street shopping for crudite fixins was a great idea https://t.co/B3MEgznGu6
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) August 15, 2022
I always thought fresh vegetables were priced by the pound, but I am not the salt-of-the-earth, man-of-the-people, go-to-Webinars-or-whatever-this-dump-for-the-poors-is called-and-buy-the-first-six-items-I-see crudite shopper that Dr. Oz is. https://t.co/ptUQWJXROD
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) August 15, 2022
I personally prepare my Pennsylvania crudité by putting the salsa, carrots asparagus, and tequila into a blender and drinking it as a juice.
— Brian Beutler (@brianbeutler) August 15, 2022
ah, yes, the famous crudite, as well know involving a single broccoli crown, 24 raw asparagus spears, and 16 pounds of carrots https://t.co/VjiLJS2F4D
— Albert Burneko (@AlbertBurneko) August 15, 2022
Others joked about him getting the name of the supermarket chain wrong.
Fellow Pennsylvanians, to be clear, this is a @Redners_Markets. Not a Wegners or a Wegmans. pic.twitter.com/Fc5YnLfl8M
— Audrey Mindy (@audrey_mindy) August 15, 2022
Just Oz doing some quick grocery shopping at “Wegners”, a store that doesn’t exist because he means Redners or Wegmans.
Next on “Fraud, with @DrOz“, learn about the second quarter in a Flyers game and how many home runs the Steelers hit! https://t.co/LkSrJqjv2A
— Steve Hofstetter (@SteveHofstetter) August 15, 2022
1st up… it’s Wegmans or it’s Redners. Wegners is like Nambia
doesn’t exist.2nd… You’re shopping for fucking Crudités?
3rd… The salsa was clearly marked $4.99 (the bruschetta next to it was 5.99) saying it is $6 inflates the cost by 20% for cheap political points. https://t.co/pJWN2Km9Ae
— Garden variety Ginger (@mkkraemer) August 15, 2022
There are still two-and-a-half months left until Election Day, which means plenty of opportunities for Fetterman — and others — to make Oz look a fool.