Protesters shared their concerns with local, national, and international media in the run-up to the debate, noting Dr. Oz’s refusal to properly characterize the Armenian Genocide, his close ties of Turkey’s dictator Recep Erdogan, and concerns that a Dr. Oz victory would open the door to foreign influence in the U.S. Senate.

Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, who issued a series of statements outlining his support for Armenian Genocide affirmation and education as well as a broad range of Armenian and Greek American concerns. Lt. Governor Fetterman stated:

“As a Pennsylvanian, I welcomed long overdue U.S. government recognition of the Armenian Genocide – by the U.S. House and Senate in 2019 and by President Biden in 2021 – and will, as a U.S. Senator, support promoting public education about this atrocity.”

“I support policy provisions – adopted recently by the U.S. House as part of the FY23 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – that require close U.S. scrutiny of U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan (Speier Amendment), call for State Department and Pentagon reports on Azerbaijani war crimes (Cardenas Amendment), and demand Azerbaijan’s release of Armenian prisoners of war (Schiff Amendment). “

“I join with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez in calling for an immediate suspension of U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan and a robust U.S. humanitarian aid program for the victims of Azerbaijani aggression in both Artsakh and Armenia.”