Elections

John Fetterman Fires Back at Dr. Oz’s ‘Nasty’ Stroke Attack

BEYOND THE PALE

The Democratic Senate candidate responded directly to a comment about his health struggles from the Oz campaign.

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Nate Smallwood via Getty Images

John Fetterman has made a name for himself by using memes and jokes to attack his Pennsylvania Senate opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz. But Fetterman turned deadly serious on Twitter Tuesday afternoon in response to the latest attack on him from the Oz campaign. “I had a stroke. I survived it. I’m truly so grateful to still be here today,” the Democratic candidate wrote. “I know politics can be nasty, but even then, I could *never* imagine ridiculing someone for their health challenges.” Fetterman was responding directly to a statement that Oz’s senior communications adviser Rachel Tripp gave to Insider earlier in the day, which read, “If John Fetterman had ever eaten a vegetable in his life, then maybe he wouldn’t have had a major stroke and wouldn’t be in the position of having to lie about it constantly.” The Daily Beast reached out to Tripp, who replied via email, “Nice try. Dr. Oz has been urging people to eat more veggies for years. That’s not ridicule. It’s good health advice. We’re only trying to help.”