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Oz failed to note gun-violence victim at campaign stop works for him
Caption: Mehmet Oz, the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, speaks with Sheila Armstrong - who lost her brother to gun violence - at House of Glory Philly CDC in Philadelphia on Sept. 19, 2022. (AP photo / Ryan Collerd)
(link) https://www.post-gazette.com/news/election2022/2022/10/14/oz-philadelphia-gun-violence-sheila-armstrong-campaign-staff-pa-senate-race/stories/202210140119
HARRISBURG — At a September campaign stop in Philadelphia, Mehmet Oz comforted a woman whose brother and nephew were killed in the city.
The Associated Press wrote: ’As Sheila Armstrong grew emotional in recounting how her brother and nephew were killed in Philadelphia, Dr. Mehmet Oz — sitting next to her inside a Black church, their chairs arranged a bit like his former daytime TV show set — placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.”
What no one said at the time is that Ms. Armstrong – certainly sincere in her grief – works for Mr. Oz’s U.S. Senate campaign in Pennsylvania. The campaign for Mr. Oz’s opponent, Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, pointed out Ms. Amstrong’s ties to the celebrity TV doctor.
From The Intercept: “Fetterman’s campaign manager, Brendan McPhillips, complained on Twitter that the AP had failed to share a pertinent fact with readers: that Armstrong is not an ordinary voter but a paid member of the Oz campaign staff.”
As evidence, Mr. McPhillips posted a screenshot of a business card Ms. Armstrong had shared on her public Instagram account in June, identifying her as the Oz campaign’s “Philadelphia County Coordinator,” above a doctorozforsenate.com email address.
The Associated Press wrote: ’As Sheila Armstrong grew emotional in recounting how her brother and nephew were killed in Philadelphia, Dr. Mehmet Oz — sitting next to her inside a Black church, their chairs arranged a bit like his former daytime TV show set — placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.”
What no one said at the time is that Ms. Armstrong – certainly sincere in her grief – works for Mr. Oz’s U.S. Senate campaign in Pennsylvania. The campaign for Mr. Oz’s opponent, Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, pointed out Ms. Amstrong’s ties to the celebrity TV doctor.
From The Intercept: “Fetterman’s campaign manager, Brendan McPhillips, complained on Twitter that the AP had failed to share a pertinent fact with readers: that Armstrong is not an ordinary voter but a paid member of the Oz campaign staff.”
As evidence, Mr. McPhillips posted a screenshot of a business card Ms. Armstrong had shared on her public Instagram account in June, identifying her as the Oz campaign’s “Philadelphia County Coordinator,” above a doctorozforsenate.com email address.
- more at link -
In other words, this was staged for the teevee cameras.
