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Pennsylvania Democratic Senate hopeful John Fetterman turned his stroke into a joke Thursday night at closed-door fundraiser with President Joe Biden in Philadelphia.
The candidate, who had a stroke in May, used the occasion to attack his rival, Republican candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz, who’s been endorsed by Donald Trump.
‘Dr. Oz never lets me forget that I had a stroke,’ Fetterman, 53, noted.
Oz often questions Fetterman’s health in appearances on the campaign stump and in campaign ads. Their competitive race could decide which party controls the Senate after November’s midterm election.
Fetterman pivoted to questioning Oz’s medical credentials.
‘Ask yourself a question: what kind of doctor roots for a person who is sick to stay sick,’ he said. ‘Sometimes I’ll miss a word or I’ll mush two words together sometimes.’
‘In January I’ll be feeling much better, but Dr. Oz will still be a fraud,’ he added.
‘He’ll say anything for a buck, he’ll say anything for a vote.’
Pennsylvania Democratic Senate hopeful John Fetterman turned his stroke into a joke Thursday night at closed-door fundraiser with President Joe Biden – above the two men at the Pittsburgh airport on Thursday
John Fetterman’s race with Republican candidate Mehmet Oz (above) could decide which party controls the Senate next year
Fetterman easily won the Democratic Senate primary in May, despite suffering from a stroke just days before.
But his medical condition has now become a huge issue in the Senate race.
On Wednesday, after previously not committing to doing so, Fetterman released a new doctor’s letter saying he was still having some issues with ‘auditory processing’ but that his ‘communication is significantly improved.’
An NBC interview last week that showed how Fetterman used closed captioning, renewed the attention on his stroke. The closed captioning transcribed the interview in real time to aid him in understanding the questions presented to him.
On Thursday, Fetterman ditched his trademark hoodie and sported a suit to spend the day in Pennsylvania with the president.
The two men visited the site of a collapsed bridge in Pittsburgh to talk about the infrastructure funds coming to the state.
They also made a stop at Primanti Brothers in Moon Township – a must-eat sandwich shop in the area – before heading to Philadelphia for the fundraiser.
Fetterman joked about his medical condition as he spoke to Democrats at the fundraising event. Some reporters were allowed inside but cameras were not.
‘I’d like to address the elephant in the room and it’s not because I’m wearing a suit,’ he said. ‘But as you know I had a stroke. I had a stroke back in May.’
He said he wanted to deny he was having a stroke and carry on to his planned event but ‘thankfully they got me to the hospital quick.’
‘I had really to consider mortality and all these issues. It’s really jarring,’ he said.
Of his race with Dr. Oz, where the GOP candidate has been closing in on him in polling, Fetterman said: ‘It’s gonna be close.’
He asked the crowd: ‘Please send Dr Oz back to New Jersey and send me to DC to be that 51st vote.’
President Joe Biden talks with Democratic Senate hopeful John Fetterman and Gisele Fetterman at the Pittsburgh airport Thursday
President Joe Biden (left) shakes the hand of workers at a Primanti’s in Moon Township, en route back to the Pittsburgh airport, as he’s accompanied by Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (center) and his wife Gisele (right)
President Joe Biden also warned of consequences if Democrats don’t keep control of the Senate.
Speaking to the Democrats at the fundraising event, Biden warned: ‘If we lose this off year election we’re in real trouble. America’s at a real inflection point.’
And he got in a few shots at Fetterman’s rival, Dr. Oz.
He noted Oz went to high school in Delaware but ‘Delaware was smart enough to send him to New Jersey.’
Oz ‘is for undoing everything we have done,’ he noted.
He also repeated his criticism that much of the Republican Party are ‘MAGA Republicans’ who are loyal to Trump.
‘We have to remind people what the Republicans are for, this new Republican party. This is not you father’s Republican Party,’ he said.
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