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Oz’s top aides mocked Fetterman’s health, diet and recovery in statements and social media posts, appearing to try to sway the lieutenant governor into agreeing to a debate. The taunt, which was derided by Fetterman and dozens of Democrats, appeared to split Oz’s Senate campaign, with the GOP candidate at one point oddly implying that his own spokespeople — whom he pays to deliver his message to the public — weren’t necessarily speaking for him. him.
“I can only speak for what I say,” Oz said in a radio interview this week.
The new approach shook up the race in Pennsylvania, something Republicans say needed to happen after Oz’s struggles. But it also exposed the Republican to questions about personal decency, which allowed Fetterman to question what kind of doctor would mock a stroke survivor.
The crescendo of the fight came when Fetterman this week refused to attend a debate in early September, citing the effects of his stroke and the way Oz’s campaign interfered with his recovery. The lack of debates — Fetterman has yet to agree to a contest — raised questions about whether he would ever agree to a one-on-one fight against Oz, forcing the Democrat to defend the decision.
“When they want to get into a serious conversation and really talk about a debate, I’d be happy to participate in that,” Fetterman told MSNBC on Wednesday in his first nationally televised interview since the stroke. “But right now, the fact that they’ve chosen to run a deeply frivolous campaign to ridicule someone who’s just recovering from a stroke.”
But Oz’s heightened messaging also changed the subject in a race that just weeks ago had been dominated by questions about his wealth, the fact that he had until recently lived in New Jersey and concerns that poor fundraising and months spent on the back foot had taken a toll irreparable damage to his chances in November.
“It’s aggressive, and I understand that sometimes people will criticize the execution,” said a Republican who works on Senate campaigns. “But it changes the tone of the race, which undoubtedly should have happened.”
Oz distanced himself from his assistants
The Republican strategy for closing the gap with Fetterman is twofold.
While Oz aides have fueled debate about the debates by focusing on Fetterman’s recovery from a stroke, they have also accused the lieutenant governor of being soft on crime, with Oz’s campaign and outside groups airing ads attacking Fetterman’s focus on reform. criminal justice and lowering the state prison population.
It was the rhetoric coming from Oz’s campaign, however, that ignited drama in the operation and even among some Republicans.
Oz campaign aides mocked Fetterman for his continued recovery, most notably when senior communications adviser Rachel Tripp said in a statement: “If John Fetterman had ever eaten a vegetable in his life, then maybe he wouldn’t have had a major stroke and would not to be in a position to lie about it all the time.”
Fetterman’s campaign criticized such comments, calling them extraordinary and offensive. But the most notable criticism came from Oz, who suggested in a radio interview this week that he should not be held responsible for statements made by his staff.
“The campaign said a lot of things, both, my position is — and I can only speak for what I’m saying — is that John Fetterman should be allowed to make a full recovery, and I will support his ability, as someone who goes through difficult time to prepare,” Oz said.
Taking a markedly different tone from his campaign, Oz added: “As a doctor, I have tremendous empathy for what John Fetterman is going through. But the arguments we’re making are more about him coming out and answering questions about his radical positions.”
In response, Fetterman senior adviser Rebecca Katz released a statement urging Oz to either “stand by” her campaign’s attacks or “condemn” them.
“Instead of trying to get away with these cynical, heartless and callous statements, let’s hear you defend them — or outright deny them,” Katz said.
But if Oz is looking for a softer tone, the message hasn’t gotten across to his aides.
After Fetterman’s interview Wednesday night, Tripp tweeted: “Chaotic listening environment like the floor of the US Senate?”
Other campaign statements, including one from Oz communications director Brittany Yannick, questioned whether Fetterman was “too ill to debate” or “unable to stand on camera for more than 10 minutes.” And in a somewhat sarcastic attempt to get Fetterman to debate, Oz’s campaign told reporters they would be willing to “pay for any additional medical personnel that may need to be on standby.”
Focusing on Fetterman’s health has put Oz in an awkward position—as evidenced by his distancing in a radio interview. Before running for the Senate or hosting a nationally syndicated television show, Oz was considered a talented and driven cardiothoracic surgeon who regularly treated people with strokes. By overseeing a campaign that mocks a survivor, Oz threatens to tarnish his own brand with voters he needs to win, Democrats say.
“Oz falls into a trap by allowing his campaign to make fun of Fetterman… Oz being a doctor, allowing his campaign to basically try to laugh at a person’s medical issues is really going to rub off on them as boomerang,” said Mike Mikus, a Democratic consultant in Pittsburgh who carried Katie McGinty through the 2016 Democratic Senate primary before losing to Republican Sen. Pat Toomey in the general election. “He’s not running as Mr. Oz. He’s running as Dr. Oz.”
Mikus suggested that the biggest damage to Oz’s campaign could be felt in the suburbs, where voters — many of whom know about Oz’s TV show — might be moved by his personality and look for someone who is authentic and trustworthy. .
“I understand why he’s trying to distance himself from his staff, but he’d be better off firing his staff,” Mikus added.
Republicans aren’t so sure about the damage — even if they acknowledge that some of the attacks on Fetterman make people uncomfortable.
“Up until the last week of this race, all the talk around the race was about Dr. Oz living in New Jersey, how he’s a rich man out of state, how he owns ten houses,” the GOP operative said. . “And today we’re talking about whether John Fetterman is capable of fulfilling the duties of this job.”
“He’s on it”
Fetterman’s strategy was to turn the Oz campaign’s jibe at the former TV doctor — something the Democrat tried to do when he took the stage at a Mercer County event Sunday.
“How many of you, maybe yourselves, have had a major health challenge in your own life,” Fetterman said in what has now become a campaign video. “Can you even imagine if you had a doctor who made fun of your illness? Or is he making fun of it? Well, here we are now.’
He added: “I’d like to think that Dr. Oz might have really lost his way if you’re going to make fun of someone who’s had a stroke. But I don’t think he really got his way, as this is a guy who made a career out of selling “miracle diet pills.”
Democrats, including Fetterman’s campaign, believe Oz is overstating and overestimating how much voters care about debate over debate.
“Oz has misdiagnosed this moment: His comments are offensive to voters in the general election, he’s awkwardly tripping over himself trying to disavow his own spokesperson — and meanwhile today, Pennsylvanians are reading on the front page of the Inquirer that he thinks for abortion to be a crime,” said David Bergstein, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Outlets including CNN reported this week that Oz had said during the GOP primary that abortion is “still murder” early in pregnancy because “life begins at conception,” a statement that would have wide-ranging repercussions. political ramifications on an issue that has inspired Democrats at this point in the cycle.
Katz, Fetterman’s strategist, said the Oz campaign “deliberately brings together two separate things — John’s health and this last lingering effect of the stroke.”
“John Fetterman is healthy. He’s sharp. He’s funny. He’s on it,” she said. “Separately, there’s still that auditory processing issue. Those are two different things.”
However, Oz’s campaign also accused Fetterman of lying about his health. “What we’re criticizing is that he’s lying,” said Barney Keller, Oz’s spokesman. Fetterman’s campaign has denied that, pointing to interviews he’s done in which he described ongoing problems caused by his stroke.
But Fetterman’s campaign has been tight-lipped about the details of the stroke while he was in the hospital, and while one of his personal doctors released a letter describing his condition and the candidate has been talking about his recovery for weeks, none of the doctors who operated on him have provided details about the procedure or their prognosis.
Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a CNN medical analyst and interventional cardiologist who has treated several high-profile politicians, said the initial lack of information allowed the Oz campaign and others to question Fetterman’s condition.
“The big problem is this: It’s one thing to have a problem with clear and distinct articulation, it’s quite another to have a cognitive problem,” he said. “I think many people would have no problem electing a leader who thinks clearly but occasionally stumbles over a word. We have this man as president. The concern people may have is whether he has residual cognitive deficits.’
Reiner said, based on his knowledge of strokes and seeing Fetterman recently, he thought the candidate most likely had “residual speech rather than cognitive” problems. But “the paucity of information that has come out of the campaign in the months since its near-fatal event is striking.”
As for a doctor’s campaign mocking a stroke survivor, Reiner was unequivocal: “As a surgeon whose complications include stroke, to ignore the effects of a stroke is disgraceful. Would he be so dismissive of a person having a stroke after a bypass? To mock him is contemptible.
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