Dr. Mehmet Oz, the TV celebrity locked in a competitive racein Pennsylvania’s Republican Senate primary, predicted that he is the one who could defeat Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the likely Democratic contender.
“I’m the best candidate to beat John Fetterman, who is basically a tall Bernie Sanders. He’s been called … the most liberal statewide official in America,” Oz told host John Catsimatidis on his WABC 770 AM radio show in an interview that aired Sunday about the 6-foot-8-inch Fetterman.
Oz, who enjoys the backing of former President Donald Trump, holds a slight lead in the polls going into Tuesday’s primary race against hedge funder David McCormick and political commentator Kathy Barnette.
In the interview, Oz, 61, also trashed the Green New Deal, for contributing to skyrocketing gas prices, which hit a new record high of $4.470 on Sunday, according to AAA.
“We have driven up energy prices by actively hindering the ability of American producers, like natural gas drillers here in Pennsylvania, to bring energy out of the ground. Because of that, energy prices jack up,” he said.
Oz said the policies hurt local communities, including those in Pennsylvania, which has vast amounts of natural gas at its disposal.
“We are the second-biggest energy state behind Texas. We have enough natural gas to power the whole country for hundreds of years. Yet we are not allowed to get it. We are not allowed to ship it. We are not allowed to put it into a pipeline,” he said.
“The Green New Deal is a lie!” he said.
“But if you use natural gas, if you ship natural gas overseas to our allies, and replace what they are now burning, it would be the equivalent of electrifying every vehicle, putting a solar panel on every American home and doubling wind energy production,” Oz said.
“This is a great deal for everybody if we would just let America become energy independent,” he added.
Fetterman, who rejects suits in favor of hoodies and shorts, has pulled in front of Rep. Conor Lamb by as much as 30 percentage points in the Democratic primary.
They are vying to replace retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey in a contest in which control of the 50-50 divided Senate is at stake.
