'This Isn't John's Format': Senate Candidate John Fetterman's Campaign Issues Memo Tempering Expectations Ahead Of Dr. Oz Debate
Oct. 25 2022, Published 12:30 p.m. ET
Senate candidate John Fetterman’s campaign sent out a memo this week tempering expectations ahead of his much-hyped debate against rival candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The surprising memo was issued on Monday, just one day before the Pennsylvania Senate candidates’ debate, and warned Fetterman’s backers that Dr. Oz has “a huge built-in advantage” due to his experience as a TV doctor.
“Let’s be clear about this match-up: Dr. Oz has been a professional TV personality for the last two decades,” Fetterman’s campaign wrote in the memo which was subsequently shared on Twitter.
“We’ll admit — this isn’t John’s format,” the memo continued regarding Tuesday night’s debate in Harrisburg. “Look no further than the debates from the primary earlier this year.”
“If we’re all being honest, Oz clearly comes into Tuesday night with a huge built-in advantage,” the memo added regarding Dr. Oz’s history of having filmed more than 2,000 episodes of The Dr. Oz Show between 2009 and January 2022.
Fetterman’s campaign team also warned viewers to expect “awkward pauses” from the lieutenant governor-turned-Senate candidate during the debate, with Fetterman “missing some words, and mushing other words together.”
Other “temporary miscommunications” and delays are also expected during Tuesday night’s debate as a result of Fetterman’s ongoing “auditory processing” issues as he continues to recover from a stroke he suffered in May.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Fetterman’s trouble understanding and responding to speech has been a hot topic after NBC News’ Sasha Burns revealed the 53-year-old candidate needs a closed captioning monitor to properly process the questions he is being asked.
“We had a monitor set up so that he could read my questions,” Burns explained after she sat for a rare in-person interview with Fetterman, “because he still has lingering auditory processing issues as a result of the stroke, which means he has a hard time understanding what he’s hearing.”
“Now, once he reads the question, he’s able to understand,” Burns explained further. “You’ll hear he also has some problems, some challenges with speech.”
Dr. Oz subsequently targeted Fetterman for his dependence on a closed captioning monitor. Oz also questioned whether or not Fetterman is fit to serve in the Senate having suffered a stroke roughly five months ago.
“I don’t think there’s closed captioning on the floor of the Senate, and maybe he doesn’t need closed captioning when he’s actually moving around,” Oz said last week. “But maybe he does.”
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“Again, lots of question marks, and voters deserve better,” Dr. Oz added.
Fetterman’s debate against Dr. Oz Tuesday night will be the pair’s final debate before the Senate election on November 8. Fetterman currently leads Dr. Oz by 2.2 points going into the debate.
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