Remember Vegetablegate? You know, the war of words between Pennsylvania Senate race rivals Dr. Mehmet Oz and John Fetterman? Here’s a quick refresher:
Rachel Tripp, Oz’s senior communications adviser, said in a statement Tuesday: “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 statement was first reported by Insider.
Fetterman (D), who initially downplayed the severity of the stroke just before the primary in May and has slowly been making his way back to the campaign trail, said earlier this month that he is “grateful” to be alive. On Wednesday he said that the comment from his Republican foe, who hosted a reality show dispensing medical advice, has pulled the race to a new rhetorical low.“I had a stroke. I survived it,” Fetterman said in a statement. “I know politics can be nasty, but even then, I could never imagine ridiculing someone for their health challenges.”
John Fetterman could never imagine ridiculing someone for their health challenges! Or shaming someone about their diet! Because that would be wrong and rude, and John Fetterman is above such wrongness and rudeness.
Or is he?
As the Washington Free Beacon’s Joe Gabriel Simonson reports, Braddock, Pennsylvania, Mayor John Fetterman spent money to have a sign put up advising residents to “EAT MORE VEGETABLES”:
Fetterman and his supporters were flabbergasted when Oz's campaign told him he should have eaten more vegetables.
I went to Braddock and discovered that, as mayor, Fetterman paid for signs ordering the town's poor and mostly black residents eat broccolihttps://t.co/RgVBRiEUjH— Joe Gabriel Simonson (@SaysSimonson) September 27, 2022
On the corner of 4th Street in Braddock, where Fetterman served as mayor from 2006 to 2019, sits a city sign likely not seen anywhere else in the United States. The sign doesn’t display the speed limit or parking hours, but rather an order to passersby: “NOTICE: EAT MORE VEGETABLES.” Fetterman spent his own money to install the signs as a way to encourage residents to eat healthier, according to local press.
The signs Fetterman installed highlight how the Democrat, who is seeing his chances to win in November decline due to voter concerns about his health and far–left record on crime, has no problem embracing a double standard when it comes to nutritional advice. Fetterman said he was struck by how “nasty” the race was turning after a spokeswoman for his Republican opponent Dr. Mehmet Oz said if 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.” But Fetterman had no issue giving such advice as mayor of Braddock, which is almost entirely black and considered a “food desert” by nutrition experts.
Food deserts are locations where residents can’t easily purchase fresh fruits and vegetables. Fetterman said himself in a 2011 interview that Braddock does not have a single grocery store. Unlike Braddock’s many poor residents, Fetterman likely did not have a hard time accessing fresh foods—his parents supported him financially well into his 40s by gifting him tens of thousands of dollars a year and helping him pay for his home in Braddock. Eating healthy in Braddock, Fetterman said in that interview, is “not affordable.”
Uh-oh. Brocc-ward!
"Here, after a rough day of working for minimum wage, when you get home, all you want to do is watch TV, eat Doritos, and drink soda," Fetterman, who once weighed over 400 pounds and whose parents supported him financially well into his 40s, said of his residents.
— Joe Gabriel Simonson (@SaysSimonson) September 27, 2022
The Oz campaign’s comments seem relatively mild now, no? Like, at least Fetterman actually had — and continues to have — serious health issues that actually merit discussion and concern. But Mayor Fetterman was actually fat- and diet-shaming his constituency, and doing so in order to maintain political power. If nothing else, Fetterman’s not any better than Oz as far as vegetable-based advice goes.
— Pete Kaliner (@PeteKaliner) September 27, 2022
— Prison Mitch, Great Meme Wars Vet (@MidnightMitch) September 27, 2022
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