Democratic candidate for Senate John Fetterman defended his heavily criticized performance in a TV debate against Republican opponent Dr. Mehmet Oz on Tuesday.
The Democratic nominee noted that although the experience wasn’t “easy,” he was proud that his team was present.
“We’ve always showed up,” Fetterman told MSNBC’s Joy Reid on Thursday, the candidate’s first interview since the debate earlier this week. “We showed up for the debate, and of course, it wasn’t gonna be easy. … It’s about getting back up and fighting.”
MIDTERMS 2022 LIVE: UPDATES FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL AHEAD OF CRUCIAL ELECTION
Fetterman’s campaign team praised his performance during Tuesday’s debate for Pennsylvania’s Senate race, noting he did “remarkably well” despite technical difficulties with the closed captioning system set up to assist him during the event.
Moderators allowed the use of closed captioning so Fetterman could read and respond to questions more easily due to an auditory processing disorder caused by a stroke he suffered in mid-May. However, Fetterman still struggled through some of his answers and stumbled over certain phrases — prompting criticism from Republicans and worrying some Democrats about how it would affect his election chances.
The interview comes just hours after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was caught on a hot mic speaking to President Joe Biden in Syracuse, New York, expressing concern with a handful of key midterm races, including the Senate race in Pennsylvania.
“The debate didn’t hurt us too much in Pennsylvania,” Schumer was heard saying. “So that’s good.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Senate race in Pennsylvania has become one of the most closely watched elections, as it could determine which party will seize control of the upper chamber in November. Despite leading for much of the midterm cycle, Fetterman’s lackluster performance during the pair’s first and only debate on Tuesday may have dinged his chances.
An InsiderAdvantage poll taken in the days following the debate shows Oz surpassing Fetterman, leading his Democratic counterpart 48% to 45%. Fetterman still holds the lead when considering the average of all polls conducted over the midterm cycle, leading Oz by 1.9 percentage points, according to election forecaster FiveThirtyEight.
