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Pennsylvania Democratic Senate hopeful John Fetterman misspoke during a campaign rally on Saturday as he attempted to spell out his position on abortion while giving a contradictory statement instead.
‘I run on Roe v. Wade. I celebrate the demise of Roe v. Wade,’ he said.
Fetterman, who is competing against celebrity doctor Dr. Mehmet Oz, may well have been trying to say ‘Oz celebrates the demise of Roe v. Wade,’ but it wasn’t clear enough to be definitive to audiences listening.
John Fetterman appeared to misspeak saying he ‘celebrated the demise of Roe V Wade’ during a speech to voters on Saturday night
Fetterman spoke at the campaign rally held at Temple University Liacouras Center in Philadelphia
‘I run on Roe v. Wade. I celebrate the demise of Roe v. Wade.’ he could be heard stating on camera, while holding a microphone in his hand
Fetterman and his Republican rival have been neck-and-neck in the bitterly-fought race but his performance when it comes to public speaking has drawn concerns among Democrat party leaders after a number of garbled answers, much of which has been blamed on his recovery from a stroke in recent months.
A debate performance last month shocked some viewers and only sowed further concerns of his suitability.
‘Hi, goodnight everyone,’ said Fetterman, as he began the night’s highly anticipated match-up.
In advance of the debate Fetterman’s campaign had tempered expectations, saying there would be ‘awkward pauses’ and ‘delays and errors,’ because the Democrat would be reading closed captioning due to his auditory processing issue.
It had previously been revealed how Fetterman used massive screens on the ground to help him deliver his message
Former President Barack Obama (left) and President Joe Biden (right) strolled onstage together in Philadelphia at a rally for Democrats John Fetterman and Josh Shapiro.
In Philadelphia on Saturday evening, (from left) Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro, former President Barack Obama, President Joe Biden and Senate hopeful Lt. Gov. John Fetterman appeared together at a rally in advance of Tuesday’s midterm elections
Fetterman, 53, is suffering some lingering speech and auditory impediments from a stroke he suffered in May.
He addressed his health at the start of the night.
‘Let’s also talk about the elephant in the room: I had a stroke,’ he said in his opening remarks, adding of Oz: ‘He’ll never let me forget that.’
At one point Fetterman was asked to clarify his position on fracking, as moderators pointed to a 2018 interview where the lieutenant governor expressed broad opposition to the practice, but not a ban.
‘I do support fracking – I don’t, I don’t – I support fracking, and I do support fracking,’ he answered to the sheer confusion of voters.
His answer when asked about small business owners who are concerned about raising the minimum wage was: ‘We all have to make sure that everyone that works is able to- that’s the most American bargain, that if you work full time you should be able to live in dignity is well true.’
‘We can’t have businesses being subsidized by not paying individuals that just simply can’t evade to pay their own way,’ he said.
After it wrapped, a CNN panel of lawmakers and pundits shared a damning assessment of Fetterman’s performance.
Charlie Dent, a former Republican congressman for Pennsylvania, said he was ‘astounded’ and ‘stunned’ by Fetterman’s poor performance, while Alyssa Farah Griffin, Donald Trump’s former communications director, said she found it ‘painful to watch’.
Even CNN host, Alisyn Camerota, said she was disturbed by the spectacle.
‘I’ve interviewed him many times as lieutenant governor,’ said Camerota.
‘And he sounds – he’s sounded different before the stroke. In the interviews, he was much more, sort of, clear spoken than what I’m hearing.’
Dent said Fetterman was not fit to be on the debate stage.
‘I thought someone should have invoked the mercy rule 20 minutes into the debate,’ he said.
‘I don’t know if it was the stroke or he’s just a lousy debater or if he doesn’t understand the issues.
‘He was flustered he, was confused. He should have not been out there.
‘And I’ve had a number of people say why was this guy in on the ballot after that?
‘I don’t know if the debates matter that much. But people watch that, they are going to question his capacity to serve.
‘The bar was set very low. It should’ve been set lower.’
A day later, Fetterman delivered a smooth 13-minute stump speech in Pittsburgh as his campaign tried to downplay Tuesday’s performance, saying Fetterman has always been lousy at debates and that the closed-captioning system he used as an aid was faulty.
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