During a campaign rally on Saturday evening, John Fetterman, a Democratic candidate for the Senate in Pennsylvania, appeared to misstate his views on abortion.
The candidate appeared to support and oppose Roe v. Wade in the same statement, leaving several audience members confused about his position.
‘I ran on Roe v. Wade. On camera, while holding a microphone, he could be heard saying, “I rejoice the death of Roe v. Wade.”
Fetterman, who is competing against renowned physician Dr. Mehmet Oz, may have intended to say, “Oz celebrates the loss of Roe v. Wade,” but it was unclear to listening listeners.
In the bitterly contested race, Fetterman and his Republican opponent have been neck-and-neck, but his performance in public speaking has raised concerns among Democratic party leaders due to a number of muddled answers, which have been largely attributed to his recovery from a stroke in recent months.
His performance in a discussion last month astonished several spectators and further increased their suspicions regarding his suitability.
Hello and goodnight, said Fetterman as he introduced the evening’s highly anticipated matchup.
Due to his auditory processing disorder, Fetterman’s team warned that there will be ‘awkward pauses’ and ‘delays and glitches’ throughout the debate since the Democrat would be reading closed captioning.
The stroke that 53-year-old Fetterman sustained in May has left him with speech and hearing impairments.
He addressed his health early in the evening.
In his opening remarks, he added, “Let’s also talk with the elephant in the room: I had a stroke,” adding, “Oz will never let me forget that.”
At one point, moderators asked Fetterman to clarify his opinion on fracking, citing a 2018 interview in which the lieutenant governor expressed broad opposition to the process but did not call for a prohibition.
“I do favor fracking – I don’t, I don’t – I support fracking, and I do support fracking,” he responded to the voters’ utter perplexity.
When asked about small company owners who are concerned about raising the minimum wage, he responded, “We all must ensure that everyone who works is able to- it’s the most American deal, that if you work full time you should be able to live in dignity.”
He stated, “We cannot allow enterprises to be subsidized by not paying citizens who cannot dodge paying their own way.”
Following its conclusion, a CNN panel of politicians and commentators criticized Fetterman’s performance.
Charlie Dent, a former Pennsylvania Republican congressman, described Fetterman’s performance as “astonishing” and “stunned,” while Alyssa Farah Griffin, Donald Trump’s former communications director, described it as “difficult to see.”
Even CNN host Alisyn Camerota was horrified by the scene, she stated.
Camerota stated, “I have interviewed him numerous times as lieutenant governor.”
Before the stroke, he sounded significantly different. In the interviews, he was considerably more articulate than what I’m hearing.
Dent stated that Fetterman was unfit for the debating stage.
He stated, “I believed someone should have invoked the compassion rule 20 minutes into the argument.”
I do not know if it was the stroke, the fact that he is a poor debater, or if he does not comprehend the topics.
He felt embarrassed and perplexed. He should not have been outside.
And I’ve had a number of people ask me why this candidate was still on the ballot after that?
“I’m not sure if the debates are that significant. But as people observe this, they will doubt his ability to serve.
The standard was quite low. It ought to have been put lower.
The following day, Fetterman made a polished 13-minute stump speech in Pittsburgh while his campaign attempted to downplay Tuesday’s performance, claiming that Fetterman has always been terrible at debates and that the closed-captioning device he used was defective.