Ian Patrick, FISM News
Pennsylvania’s Senate race is heating up as GOP candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz and Democrat candidate John Fetterman trade advertisement barbs and Fetterman, who suffered a stroke earlier this year, has yet to agree to a public debate.
Lieutenant Governor Fetterman and the former television celebrity Dr. Oz have already been involved in a rather interesting race, but the pressure has amped up in recent weeks as the November elections draw near.
The campaign for Dr. Oz has focused in recent weeks on questions of Fetterman’s health. Shortly before the Primary elections in May, Fetterman had a stroke which resulted in surgery to implant a pacemaker. At the time, Dr. Oz wished him well and that he would get better.
Now, Oz has raised the question of Fetterman’s mental fitness, as the Democrat has not yet agreed to debate Oz publicly.
In a September 6 interview with Bret Baier on Fox News, Oz used the fact that Fetterman had not agreed to any debates with him as a potential sign that he is not mentally fit. Oz even said he wanted Fetterman to “share … what concessions need to be made” in order to participate in a debate.
Fetterman’s campaign has claimed that Oz is “making fun” of him for his stroke. Oz says that as a doctor he understands “how hard it is to bounce back” from such an event, but that Fetterman’s lack of transparency on the issue “undermines democracy.”
Other right-wing persons and organizations have posted videos supporting the idea that Fetterman isn’t mentally fit. The American Firebrand PAC posted a video showing Fetterman appearing to stumble over some phrasings while at a campaign rally.
Fetterman can barely even talk. This is just sad. pic.twitter.com/KDYIqrkqj0
— American Firebrand (@FirebrandPAC) September 6, 2022
Even outgoing Senator Pat Toomey, during a joint press conference alongside Dr. Oz, supported the idea that Fetterman’s health could be detrimental to his political work. Toomey said that Fetterman “is doing everything possible” to avoid a debate and questions from the press.
On September 7, Fetterman told POLITICO that he would agree to one debate with Dr. Oz sometime in October. As for why he hasn’t commented on any other debate attempts, Fetterman said he has been “addressing some of the lingering issues of the stroke.”
Oz’s campaign issued a rebuttal claiming that Fetterman has made no commitments to any official debates in the future.
John Fetterman’s misinformation campaign is busy tonight, here’s the reality: I have committed to 6 debates in September and October. Fetterman has committed to 0. Absentee ballots can go out September 19th. We need to be debating early and often.
— Dr. Mehmet Oz (@DrOz) September 8, 2022
Oz’s Communications Director Brittany Yanick said that Fetterman’s statement “was another laughable attempt to distract from the fact that John Fetterman has zero plans to debate.”
Oz campaign says this morning that Fetterman saying he’ll debate is just another distraction from him not debating.
Gonna need more coffee for today. pic.twitter.com/tZ2HaX93Ug
— Julia Terruso (@JuliaTerruso) September 8, 2022
Even on his own Twitter page, Dr. Oz included a tweet from Fetterman that reads, “We believe voters deserve no fewer than three network televised debates … before major media markets all across PA.”
Oz’s campaign and other GOP entities have also been focusing on other talking points from Fetterman, such as his support for releasing a third of currently imprisoned inmates and his support to, supposedly, “free murderers.”
Another ad coming out of the American Leadership Action PAC tells the story of Fetterman pulling a shotgun on an unarmed black man and falsely accusing him of a crime.
Fetterman’s campaign focuses on abortion, Oz’s wording
An advertisement from Fetterman’s team attacks Oz’s stance on abortion by using audio from an interview with Dr. Oz in which the Republican candidate says “life starts at conception.” Fetterman counters with his own stance that he would support ending the filibuster to “codify women’s reproductive freedom.”
The overturning of Roe v. Wade earlier this year has become a central talking point for primaries around the country. Oz’s Senate website describes him as “100% Pro-Life,” while Fetterman’s website says he “will vote to enshrine access to safe and legal abortion into federal law.”
Another ad that Fetterman’s team recently posted dealt with labor unions. Fetterman has expressed hard support for corporate and teacher’s unions in the past, and he claims in his ad that Oz wants to “end the union way of life.”
Fetterman’s campaign has also labeled Oz as someone who is out of touch with Pennsylvanians, citing his multiple homes outside of the state and a video from Oz that went viral for unintended reasons.
In the video Dr. Oz shops for vegetables at a supermarket in an attempt to prove how inflation, which he says is because of Joe Biden’s policies, has impacted the price of everyday items.
However, the video went viral because Fetterman and others mocked the Senate candidate for his mispronunciation of the store (which he called “Wegners” instead of Wegman’s or Redner’s Markets) and his use of the word “crudité” instead of what Fetterman said was a “veggie tray.”