PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mehmet Oz picked up an endorsement from Donald Trump’s ambassador to Israel Wednesday night. About 300 pro-Israel Philadelphia-area residents were in attendance at the event sponsored by the Republican Jewish Coalition.
“Dr. Mehmet Oz is the right person at the right time with the right values and the right ideology,” said former U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman.
Friedman sat down with Oz for a Q&A — giving him a breather from two days of mockery over a campaign video where he mixed up a Pennsylvania grocery store chain with a New Jersey one. Oz has been criticized for being unfamiliar with Pennsylvania since he moved to the commonwealth to run for Senate.
Oz instead used his Q&A time to show off his foreign policy chops.
“If I’m elected to the Senate and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, I’d be able to endorse and embrace what it means to be a strong America,” he said. “Using our soft power wisely, allowing our friends to have confidence that we’ll be with them, and making sure our enemies know there’ll be some real consequences if they cross us.”
Republican Jewish Coalition Executive Director Matt Brooks believes Oz, a Muslim, will do well with Jewish voters, even though he shares the ticket with Doug Mastriano, the candidate for governor who is allied with Christian nationalists.
Related
“It’s a binary contest,” Brooks said. “The reason we’re encouraged is it couldn’t be starker between Oz and [Democratic candidate John] Fetterman, not just on foreign policy stuff but on energy independence, on crime, on drug legalization.”
“John Fetterman is on the opposite side of just about every major issue from me,” Oz added, painting Fetterman as far left, similar to progressive House members elected in 2018. “I liken him to a member of the squad. even though he’s much taller than any of them.”
The election is on Nov. 8.
Related
