Dr. Mehmet Oz, left, and Democrat Senate rival John Fetterman, right, in a composite image.
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Dr. Oz gave a fundraising speech at Lyon Air Museum in Santa Ana, California, on Thursday night.
Jezebel reported that the speech took place in front of a car that previously belonged to Adolf Hitler.
Oz’s Democratic Senate rival, John Fetterman, rebuked him for the gaffe on Twitter.
Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz spoke in front of a car that used to belong to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler during a fundraiser on Thursday night, prompting his Democratic rival John Fetterman to question his suitability for office.
Oz gave a speech at Lyon Air Museum in Santa Ana, California, as part of a $5,000-a-ticket fundraiser hosted by Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey, Jezebel reported.
Behind Oz’s podium, which was positioned next to a TV monitor showing the logo for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, was a dark blue wagon, an image shared on social media shows.
—𝙻𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝚃𝚎𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚢 📷 🏳️🌈Make #GoodTrouble (@LarryTenney) October 7, 2022
The vehicle appears to be the museum’s 1939 Mercedes-Benz Model G4 Offener Touring Wagon.
The museum says on its website that it was “delivered” to Hitler in late 1939 and was “used by the Fuhrer in Ober Salzberg, Berlin, and Poland until seized by the French Army at Berchtesgaden.”
The museum’s website shows that the car usually has a red swastika plaque attached to the front. However, the Nazi symbol is not visible in images shared on social media.
It is not immediately clear if the museum removed the plaque for the speech. Insider contacted the museum for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Insider reached out to Oz’s campaign for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Fetterman rebuked Oz on Twitter for the campaign gaffe.
“I don’t know who needs to hear this, but if you’re asking donors for money in front of Hitler’s literal car, then you shouldn’t be running for US Senate,” Fetterman wrote.
—John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) October 7, 2022
Oz and Fetterman are competing in a close and increasingly bitter race for a Pennsylvania Senate seat.
Earlier this week, Fetterman branded his GOP rival a “#PuppyKiller” after Jezebel reported that Oz had been a principal investigator in a series of scientific studies that resulted in the deaths of 329 dogs.
Last month, Oz’s campaign told Insider that Fetterman wouldn’t have “had a stroke” if he had “ever eaten a vegetable in his life.”