'We're Not Here To Do Interviews': Senate Candidate John Fetterman's Wife Gisele Shuts Down Reporter Asking About Downed Bridge
John Fetterman’s wife was forced to step in and shut down a reporter asking her Senate candidate husband a question during an event with President Joe Biden this week, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The short exchange took place on Thursday as Fetterman, his wife Gisele and President Biden attended an event at the worksite of the Fern Hollow Bridge – a bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that suddenly collapsed in January.
According to Daily Mail, reporter Kyle Mazza of UNF News asked the lieutenant governor-turned-Senate candidate if he was satisfied with the progress being made on the collapsed bridge.
“We're not here to do interviews, we're here to celebrate,” Gisele responded.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, this is the second time in one week Fetterman’s wife stepped in to defend her husband who is still recovering from “auditory processing” difficulties as a result of a stroke he suffered in May.
On Monday, Gisele confronted NBC News and the network’s reporter, Dasha Burns, over an in-person interview Burns had with Fetterman last week.
According to Burns, Fetterman needed a closed captioning monitor during the interview to help him process and comprehend the questions he was being asked.
“We had a monitor set up so that he could read my questions,” Burns explained after the interview, “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.”
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“Now, once he reads the question, he’s able to understand,” she continued. “You’ll hear he also has some problems, some challenges with speech. And I’ll say…that just in some of the small talk prior to the interview, before the closed captioning was up and running, it did seem that he had a hard time understanding our conversation.”
Burns’ comments led Gisele to slam both NBC News and the journalist for what she believed was “ableist” behavior towards Fetterman during his ongoing stroke recovery.
“What is being done at the media after a reporter came out so openly ableist towards a person? I think shocked and appalled, but sadly not surprised,” Gisele fumed. “I know there’s still so much to do, but it would be great to see some accountability, to actually see real change.”
She added, “I would love to see an apology towards the disability community from her and from her network for the damage they have caused.”
Fetterman has faced scrutiny as a result of his stroke recovery, particularly from his Senate rival – Dr. Mehmet Oz.
After Fetterman’s interview with Burns, and after the revelation Fetterman needs a closed captioning monitor to help him understand questions, Oz questioned whether his opponent is fit to serve Pennsylvania in the Senate should he be elected on November 8.
The renewed scrutiny around his health ultimately forced Fetterman to produce a new letter from his personal physician, Dr. Clifford Chen, who confirmed that while the Democratic Senate candidate is recovering well, he still suffers from difficulties regarding auditory processing.
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