A recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer noted that Democrat Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman “wasn’t great at debates” even before he had a stroke:
Even before his stroke, Fetterman wasn’t great at debates. He was visibly grouchy during the Senate primary debates and at one point bristled, asked to explain a basic piece of his policy (at what income level would he raise taxes?).
He has campaigned more on an ethos — “the union way of life” and “forgotten communities” — than wonky ideas. At times he can be expansive and make thoughtful arguments about his principles. At others, he’s gruff and seems miffed by the notion that he should have to explain himself at all.
That quote from the paper found its way into an email the Fetterman campaign sent to the media with the clear intent of downplaying expectations ahead of a scheduled debate tomorrow:
John Fetterman's team downplays expectations ahead of tomorrow's debate with Oz, noting that he was not a great debater before the stroke.
"We’ll admit – this isn’t John’s format. Look no further than the debates from the primary earlier this year." pic.twitter.com/gvRVEE27jm
— Daniel Marans (@danielmarans) October 24, 2022
Pre-debate Fetterman campaign messaging memo anticipates viral videos of him "missing some words" etc. Acknowledges that he's never been a great debater: This was an issue in primary, where Lamb/Kenyatta knocked him for skipping some debates. pic.twitter.com/aXuk52wkid
— David Weigel (@daveweigel) October 24, 2022
The Fetterman campaign also reminded the media that his their Republican opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz, has “been a professional TV personality for the last two decades.”
Team Fetterman’s email to the media also includes this:
“We are prepared for Oz’s allies and right-wing media to circulate malicious viral videos after the debate to try to paint John in a negative light because of awkward pauses, missing some words and mushing other words together.”
Miranda Devine takes a guess at what sparked all this:
The rehearsals must have been quite something https://t.co/rzIgZS0vvi
— Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) October 24, 2022
Right?
Thank God the Senate doesn't require any sort of public speaking or debating skills..
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣#FettermanPA #FettermanForSenate https://t.co/3Rp6W2ZtVP
— Jeff Myrtlebank (@EndOfMyRope77) October 24, 2022
Of course, the debate hasn’t even happened yet, so we’ll see…
Odds that Fetterman tests positive for COVID before tomorrow night? pic.twitter.com/fRzU9WQhn8
— gmannicus (@gmannicus) October 24, 2022
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Related:
Biden’s stop for Fetterman leads to some glaring omissions in the campaign’s coverage
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