A prominent Pennsylvania newspaper joined the cacophony of voices raising concerns about Senate hopeful John Fetterman’s health after he suffered a stroke earlier this year.
“John Fetterman has not fully recovered from the serious stroke he suffered in May,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote in an editorial Tuesday. “If Mr. Fetterman is not well enough to debate his opponent, that raises serious concerns about his ability to serve as a United States senator.”
Fetterman suffered a stroke in May, days before he won the Democratic primary contest for Senate. Following his stroke, he remained out of the limelight until August. But since returning to the campaign trail, Fetterman has often stumbled or skipped over words in speeches.
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The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette scolded Dr. Oz’s campaign for “dragging the race deeper and deeper into the muck” by offering to allow Fetterman to pay for “any additional medical personnel” and permit Fetterman to have an earpiece with staff, as well as notes on hand during a hypothetical debate.
“If Mr. Oz would like to suggest his opponent is not being straightforward about his health — a serious but legitimate charge when competing for the intense and important work of a U.S. senator — he can do so without sandbox bullying,” the paper added in its editorial.
Fetterman has so far declined to participate in a debate with Oz, with a campaign strategist explaining that Fetterman’s team is mulling through various options to “figure out what a fair debate would look like with the lingering impacts of the auditory processing in mind.”
Since his return, Fetterman has argued that his “health now is robust” and that his only lingering issue is he “might miss a word every now and then or I might mush two words together.” He has also shaded Oz’s team for making it “abundantly clear that they think it is funny to mock a stroke survivor.” Meanwhile, Oz has sought to distance himself from attacks on Fetterman’s health.
Despite his monthslong absence from the campaign trail and health concerns, Fetterman still holds a commanding lead over Oz, with an edge of 6.5 percentage points, according to the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate of polling. The polls appear to have tightened in recent weeks as the election nears.
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To compensate for his absence from the campaign trail throughout most of the summer, Fetterman’s team has hit Oz with a litany of scathing online attacks characterizing Oz as a rich and out-of-touch carpetbagger. Recently, this included mockery of the celebrity doctor’s trip to Wegmans, a store he mispronounced as “Wegners.”
Fetterman and Oz will face off to replace outgoing Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) on Nov. 8.
