Pennsylvania GOP Senate candidate Mehmet Oz claims he was “exhausted” when he filmed the viral ‘Wegner’s’ video and said the gaffe is no big deal because he gets the names of his children wrong sometimes.
In the video, originally posted in April, Oz is seen inside a supermarket purchasing items for crudité while complaining about high prices.
“Thought I’d do some grocery shopping, I’m at Wegners,” Oz said, conflating the names of two grocery-store chains — Redner’s and Wegmans — by calling the store he was in “Wegners.”
Oz went on to say that he wanted to get ingredients for his wife to make crudités, and began to pick up items off the shelf like broccoli, asparagus, carrots, guacamole and salsa all while lamenting the price of each item.
“Guys, that’s $20 for crudités and this doesn’t include the tequila,” Oz said. “This is outrageous and we’ve got Joe Biden to thank for this.”
Asked about the crudités mishap, particularly about the “Wegner’s” gaffe, during an appearance on Newsmax, Oz said he was tired.
“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,” Oz said.
Asked if he is relatable to the average voter in Pennsylvania Oz said: “I’ve rolled my sleeves up my whole life. When I joke about a crudité, which 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 to do whatever we need to do to make sure the people of Pennsylvania respect what we’re about. We’re going to work as hard as we can to fix their problems. It’s what I’ve done my whole life and what I’ll continue to do.”
Pennsylvania Democratic candidate John Fetterman responded to Oz’s video on Monday in a tweet saying: “In PA we call this a… veggie tray.”
Brendan McPhillips, Fetterman’s campaign manager, released a statement on Tuesday saying: “John actually understands what it’s like to go grocery shopping and to see prices go up. Oz clearly has never been in a grocery store before. That’s why this is resonating with supporters across Pennsylvania.”
Fetterman’s campaign also raised $500,000 after Oz’s video went viral. $65,000 of the total sum was raised just from giving a sticker to anyone who makes a donation of any amount to the campaign. The sticker reads: “Wegners: Let them eat Crudite”
