John Fetterman, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Pennsylvania, does not have any “physical limits” and has “nothing to hide” about his health status, he said in his first interview since experiencing a stroke in May.
The 52-year-old candidate detailed his health recovery over the last few months, noting he walks 4 to 5 miles every day in 90-degree heat, can properly understand words in conversations, and didn’t lose any of his memory, he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Despite the health scare, Fetterman assured supporters it would not hinder him from returning to the campaign trail in the coming weeks.
FETTERMAN HIRES EX-BIDEN STRATEGIST AS CAMPAIGN MANAGER FOR SENATE RUN
“I might miss a word every now and then in a conversation, or I might slur two words. Even then, I think that’s infrequent,” Fetterman told the outlet. “So I feel like we are ready to run, and that’s the only issues I have. That’s the absolute truth, 100%.”
His comments come almost two months after Fetterman was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a condition that causes the heart muscle to become weakened and enlarged. The Democrat suffered a stroke in mid-May, just days before winning the nomination for Senate in Pennsylvania, a key swing state in the midterm elections in November.
On the day of the primary, his campaign disclosed that he underwent a procedure to install a pacemaker with a defibrillator, calling the procedure successful.
Fetterman had previously been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm, in 2017 after experiencing swelling in his feet. He was instructed to return for a follow-up appointment in the next few months but did not return until five years after his initial diagnosis — raising questions on whether the Democrat is in good enough health to run in one of the most competitive Senate races in the country.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
However, Fetterman maintained he is “feeling really good” and expects to return to the campaign trail full-time “very soon.”
“Truthfully, my life is very normal, other than just not doing campaign events right now,” he said.
Fetterman will face Trump-backed Republican candidate Mehmet Oz in the general election in November. Pennsylvania’s Senate race has been called a toss-up by nonpartisan election analysts, and the seat is seen as possibly the best pickup opportunity for Democrats as Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) retires and Democrats seek to maintain or grow their Senate majority.
