As I write this the Fetterman vs. Oz debate is just ending. Right off the bat it looks like Fetterman’s camp was wise to lower expectations for his performance.
Fetterman opens the debate:
"Hi. Good night everybody." pic.twitter.com/mg0X3Iwf5D
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 26, 2022
To be clear, Fetterman does have closed captioning for this debate so what we’re seeing tonight is not a result of his auditory processing problem.
The closed captioning in the debate will be done through real-time transcription services provided by stenographers, not through auto-captions, according to Dennis Owens, the ABC 27 News anchor moderating the debate.
One stenographer will be transcribing everything Oz is saying, and the other will be transcribing all the debate questions — but what Fetterman says will not be transcribed.
These captions will appear on large TV monitors behind the moderators, so that both Oz and Fetterman can read them.
In his opening statement, Fetterman did address the elephant in the room, his stroke.
John Fetterman’s Opening Statement: "Let's also talk about the elephant in the room. I had a stroke. He never let me forget that. pic.twitter.com/rqFwk850hV
— PoliticsVerse 🇺🇸 (@PoliticsVerse) October 26, 2022
There was an exchange on fracking. Fetterman was struggling a bit with the words.
What just happened? #PASen pic.twitter.com/aJRDZVFU2x
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 26, 2022
He was confronted by the moderator with his previous claims that he was against fracking.
Fetterman: “I absolutely support fracking.”
Moderator: “In a 2018 interview, you said ‘I don’t support fracking at all. I never have.”
Fetterman: “I’ve always supported fracking.”
LIAR! pic.twitter.com/9Bx6YKsy3p
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 26, 2022
It was CNN that caught one of Fetterman’s fracking contradictions. I wrote about it here. Oz pointed out that Fetterman had flip-flopped.
.@DrOz: "John Fetterman has gone after the energy industry, called it 'a stain' on Pennsylvania, and argued we have to BAN fracking. That is disconnected from Pennsylvanians." pic.twitter.com/5rO9CPXCry
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 26, 2022
I’m not sure what the question was here but he’s struggling.
Fetterman: "We all have to make sure that everyone that works is able to that's the most American bargain that you work full time you should be able to live in dignity as well true." pic.twitter.com/L3f4spBIiz
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 26, 2022
And in his answer on inflation, I’m not sure what he’s saying. It’s a word salad.
Fetterman: "Here's what I think we need to fight about inflation here right now. That's what we need to fight about inflation right now because its a tax and Dr. Oz couldn't understand what that's like." pic.twitter.com/yKfIxsrU1o
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 26, 2022
This was apparently supposed to be an applause line about Oz and oil companies but Fetterman bungled it so badly it didn’t land.
Fetterman to Oz: "He's never met an oil company he doesn't swipe right about." pic.twitter.com/AW0UQ6nxRQ
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 26, 2022
He did slightly better with this line about immigration and the Statue of Liberty but it still fell apart at the end.
Fetterman: "I don’t ever recall in the Statue of Liberty did they say you know take our tired huddled masses and put them on a bus and use cheap political stunts about them. I believe we have to develop a comprehensive and bipartisan solution for immigration here and our nation" pic.twitter.com/ya4wmtDcyw
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 26, 2022
Fetterman also interrupted Oz’s closing remarks.
CLOSING STATEMENT from @DrOz: “Ask yourself this and others in your family, are you unhappy with where America’s headed? I am. If you are as well, then I’m the candidate for change.” #PASen pic.twitter.com/JaE7MJcevM
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 26, 2022
So the elephant in the room really seems to have dominated this debate. Even Chris Cuomo can see it.
CHRIS CUOMO on tonight's #PASen debate: "Voters, I think, saw things that will definitely change the state of this race."
"Fetterman struggled … I don't think his preparation was great." pic.twitter.com/Hy58N3OD41
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 26, 2022
Update: A good point.
Remember all those reporters who attacked NBC's @DashaBurns for her remarks about her Fetterman interview? YIIIIIIIIIKES https://t.co/6382oE0Hwa
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) October 26, 2022
The contention that Fetterman just occasionally messes up a word here or there was obviously a ridiculous lie
— Rich Lowry (@RichLowry) October 26, 2022
Another good point.
If they're lying to us this much about Fetterman, what lies are they telling us about Joe?
— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) October 26, 2022
Update: I’ve said before that my grandmother went through this years ago. She couldn’t speak clearly. Her personality changed somewhat and about a year or so later she gradually returned to normal. I think that could happen to Fetterman as well. By next summer or fall he might be in a very different place. But right now he’s clearly got more problems than just auditory processing or whatever the media has been saying. He’s struggling to form sentences not just to understand speech. He should not be in this race right now and he definitely should not have agreed to this debate.
Update: More reactions.
John Fetterman’s ability to communicate is seriously impaired. Pennsylvania voters will be talking about this obvious fact even if many in the media will not.
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) October 26, 2022
Democrats are asking the same thing post-debate: Why did Fetterman's team allow him to take the stage tonight? No one I'm talking to on the left has a good thing to say about what just took place.
— Al Weaver (@alweaver22) October 26, 2022
.@DashaBurns deserves an apology from the American press corp for her treatment covering Fetterman.
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) October 26, 2022
The left is eerily quiet on Twitter about that debate performance right now. Somewhere there’s a Journolist convo taking place about how best to manage this disaster. Control of the Senate could hang on this seat. It’s too important to concede the problem honestly so Democrats are waiting for marching orders which haven’t been issued yet.
Update: Is this the best they can do? Just complain that anyone who notices Fetterman’s inability to speak coherently is the problem?
when your side is so bad you have to rely on ableism to win https://t.co/3iTWIKXTPy
— Liz Plank (@feministabulous) October 26, 2022
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