More than five months after experiencing a stroke, Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman struggled as he attempted to wade his way through a debate with Republican Mehmet Oz. Both men are vying to succeed Republican Pat Toomey in the Senate.
Fetterman at times was unable to string together coherent words and sentences, leaving many questioning the state of his health. Fetterman has refused to release his medical records and refused to say if he would when asked about it by debate moderators.
Perhaps the most chaotic moment of the debate was when Fetterman claimed that he had always supported fracking, to which a moderator pointed out a 2018 quote from him in which he said he has “never” been in favor of fracking.
“How do you square the two?” the moderator asked.
The response wasn’t pretty.
After a lengthy pause, Fetterman said: “I do support fracking, and. I don’t. I do support fracking, and I stand and I do support fracking.”
In the opening minutes of the debate, Fetterman addressed what he called the “elephant in the room.”
“I had a stroke. He’s never let me forget that,” Fetterman said of Oz, who has persistently questioned his ability to serve in the Senate. “And I might miss some words during this debate, mush two words together, but it knocked me down and I’m going to keep coming back up.”
Oz, a celebrity heart surgeon, ignored his opponent’s health challenges throughout the debate, instead seizing on Fetterman’s policies on immigration and crime and his support for President Joe Biden. At one point, Oz said Fetterman, the state’s lieutenant governor, was “trying to get as many murderers out of jail as possible.”
“His extreme positions have made him untenable,” he charged.
The forum had many of the trappings of a traditional debate, complete with heated exchanges and interruptions. But the impact of the stroke was apparent as Fetterman used closed-captioning posted above the moderator to help him process the words he heard, leading to occasional awkward pauses.
The biggest question coming out of the debate was whether it would have a lasting impact coming two weeks before the election and more than 600,000 ballots already cast. The stakes of the race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Pat Toomey are huge: It represents Democrats’ best chance to flip a Senate seat this year — and could determine party control of the chamber and the future of Biden’s agenda.
But rather than watch the full hour as the candidates debated abortion, inflation and crime, many Pennsylvanians may only see clips of the event on social media. And both parties are preparing to flood the airwaves with television advertising in the final stretch.
(AP/YWN)
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15 Responses
Is the Democrat party all about electing people who aren’t in supreme health? I feel bad for this guy buy he is no asset to the United States Senate! This country cannot afford to have another important policy maker in poor health! 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has its confused and I’ll person in the driver’s seat. The problem is that we are the passengers!
Ok that was pretty bad.
I feel very bad for people that have big dreams and then due to a medical situation they’re unable to achieve their goals. However me feeling bad for mr. Fetterman, doesn’t take away from his inability to serve in the senate.
Much like Sniffy Joe!
Only a Democrat can get away with running a candidate whose condition impacts a person’s cognitive abilities but then gets to criticize others for questioning the obvious and calling them ableist
How is that worse than farkalachte Joe Biden’s gibberish..ezhdhflbstering dhdhshtszxhrig dysydjdblemt of mush potatoes?
The difference between Federman and Biden is that Biden has “gaffs” and it’s stemming from a real studder that he overcame. Compare the apples to apples please. Trump is a gifted crowd-speaker, so his mental decline isn’t as apparent. #Desantis2024
I can’t deal with these sick democrats. They make me truly nauseous. The way they abuse good people in unfortunate medical situations is sickening. You could cry. And they think they are the nice ones. Kol hamerachem al haachzariim, etc! Horrible. The prez, this gentleman, disgusting!
And he should feel well and recover from his stroke and not allow this abuse. I wish him all the best.
Lastly, I didn’t see the full debate, but based on these vids at least – kudos to the republican for being respectful.
and what’s wrong with a politician who is incapable of putting his foot in his mouth?
Trump and Biden would both benefit greatly for such a disability.
It’s important to understand that although he may have speech problems, he is sound of mind. The speech of a stroke survivor isn’t indicative of his mental state.
lol
“Trump is a gifted crowd-speaker, so his mental decline isn’t as apparent..”
Listen to even an hour or so of the Bob Woodward tapes of interviews with Trump and you will see its more apparent than you would otherwise imagine. Same for when he goes off the teleprompter and riffs at his MAGA Rallies.
Overall, its sad that both parties continue to offer up mediocre candidates past their prime (assuming there was a prime)
The clear winner of this debate is senile Uncle Joe. Fetterman made him look like James Madison.
Lets not kid ourselves, the reason we dont want him is not about his health, its about his policies and views on pennsylvania and on our country.
His statement on fracking seems a reasonable restatement of the Democratic position on the matter. When they are talking to an environmentalist they oppose it, and when talking to someone who wants to heat their home, drive a vehicle or fertilize crops, they favor it. When having to address both groups simultaneously, of course they sprout gibberish. What else could they say? How does that have any connection to his physical or mental health?
Aymdock, Biden’s speech has nothing to do with any alleged “studder” that he is claimed to have had once. That is just an excuse his handlers are pushing to explain away his obvious senility. Go back and listen to his speeches from 10, 20, 30 years ago. He’s the same dimwit and the same liar, but there is no stutter, no strange phrasing, none of the things that are now being pushed as symptoms of his fictional “speech impediment”. His only impediment is that he is losing the few marbles he once had.
Zaltzvasser, who says Fetterman’s mind is sound? How do you know it’s sound? Who told you, and why do you believe them? His doctor Chen is now exposed as a quack and a liar; nothing he says can be believed. So who else is there who can testify to it?
The fact is that debating is a senator’s job. The senate is, essentially, the country’s most important debate club. Hiring a senator who can’t debate is like hiring a bus driver who can’t drive!