Dr Oz Says Pennsylvania on 'Atlantic Coast,' Sparks Tidal Wave of Ridicule

Pennsylvania GOP Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz has been mocked online after he appeared to suggest that the Keystone State borders the Atlantic coast.

In an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity on Monday night, Oz criticized his Democratic opponent John Fetterman over his "radical" views on crime and his faltering performance during the live televised debate on October 25.

During the interview, Oz described how it is "important" that he wins the upcoming midterm election over Fetterman, as well as stopping the Democrats controlling the Senate, with the Republican accusing the party of not being able to deal with "kitchen table" issues such as crime or the economy.

While doing so Oz—a longtime New Jersey resident whom Fetterman has frequently accused of having no genuine connections to Pennsylvania—seemed to suggest the state he is hoping to be the senator for is on the East Coast.

"This is important: We do not have a Republican senator north of North Carolina on the Atlantic coast until you get to Maine, if I don't hold this seat," Oz said.

"And there's been a Republican senator in Pennsylvania most of my life. I'm going to keep one here as well."

A clip of comments were posted to Twitter by journalist Aaron Rupar along with the caption: "Does Oz ... does he think Pennsylvania is on the coast?"

Other social-media users also ridiculed Oz for the error.

"OZ: I can see coast line from my house*" tweeted Jesse Ferguson, a Democratic strategist who worked on Hilary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, before adding "*house is in Jersey."

Writer Gary Legum tweeted: "Part of Pennsylvania is the shore of the Delaware River, which flows into the Delaware Bay, which then flows into the Atlantic Ocean, checkmate, lib."

While referencing a plot line from the ABC soap opera, editor-in-chief for TVLine.com Matt Mitovich wrote: "He musta loved the All My Children storyline where Maria's crashed plane slid off a cliff into the Pennsylvania Ocean."

Fetterman, the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, has sought for months to portrait Oz as a carpetbagger candidate with no ties to the state.

This include trolling tactics of attempting to introduce the Republican candidate to the New Jersey Hall of Fame, and releasing campaign videos featuring celebrities from the Garden State such as Steven Van Zandt, guitarist in the Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.

He also played Silvio Dante in HBO's New Jersey-based series The Sopranos, and asked Oz in a video, "Whaddaya doing in Pennsylvania?"

Elsewhere during his Hannity interview, Oz said the Democrats are failing to "address the kitchen-table issues of crime, of the border, which is allowing every state to become a border state," and that the economy is "getting worse by the day."

"Gas prices went up again today, again. It is going to be $10 a gallon in Europe. But it's going to get back to $5 a gallon in Pennsylvania and probably much of the country if we don't do something about it," Oz said.

Newsweek has contacted Oz's campaign for comment.