This week, the Fetterman campaign erected a pair of billboards adjacent to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia ahead of a matchup between the Cowboys and the Eagles on Sunday.
The Fetterman campaign highlighted what they described as Oz’s “Cowboys Fandom” in an email to journalists on Tuesday morning and pointed to tweets from the celebrity heart surgeon where he expressed support for the Eagles’ NFC East rival.
The billboards appear designed to bolster the Fetterman campaign’s argument that Oz has weak links to Pennsylvania. The Republican resided in New Jersey for many years and that fact has become a factor in the potentially crucial Senate race.
The billboards are based on a photo that Oz shared on his Twitter account in January 2013 and also feature the message: “Dr. Oz is a Cowboys fan. Elect a real Pennsylvanian.”
In his 2013 tweet, which included the photo of Oz jumping while holding a football, he wrote: “Doing my best to audition for the Cowboys while we have access to their facility during my 15 Minute Physical.”
Brendan McPhillips, Fetterman’s campaign manager, said in a statement that Oz’s stated support for the Cowboys “gets to the heart of who this guy really is.”
“He pretends to be a Cowboys fan when he’s in Dallas, but now that he’s running for office, he tailgates at Eagles games like he’s a real Philly fan,” McPhillips said.
“He has no core and no real beliefs. He’s willing to sell out something as simple as his football rooting interest to benefit himself when he’s in Texas, and he’d do the exact same thing on policy issues as a U.S. Senator. He’s a fair-weather Pennsylvanian at best, and we can’t trust him to stick around and be on our side when it’s not in his own self-interest,” the statement continued.
Oz has expressed support for the Philadelphia Eagles in social media posts in the past, writing on Twitter and Instagram on January 21, 2018: “I am from Philadelphia and have never witnessed [an Eagles] victory like tonight’s!”
On November 7, 2021, Oz shared a photo on Facebook showing him with a group of men at Lincoln Financial Philadelphia Eagles Stadium.
“Tailgating before the Philadelphia Eagles game,” Oz wrote.
The Fetterman campaign noted that the Democrat, who is currently the state’s lieutenant governor, has supported the Pittsburgh Steelers and believes the “Cowboys blow.”
Newsweek has reached out to the Fetterman and Oz campaigns for comment.
Oz and Fetterman are in a contentious race to succeed retiring Republican Senator Pat Toomey and the two campaigns have traded barbs over issues including Fetterman’s health following a stroke and accusations that experiments overseen by Oz caused the deaths of more than 300 dogs.
Poll tracker FiveThirtyEight rates Fetterman as favored to win the Pennsylvania Senate seat, giving him a 72 percent chance of victory.
