As we told you yesterday, Pennsylvania Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman — who, despite pulling a shotgun on a black jogger, is actually a big ol’ teddy bear — took great offense to his opponent Dr. Mehmet Oz pointing out that Fetterman’s stroke has apparently left him with health problems that make debating impossible.
I survived a stroke. Plenty of others have dealt with health challenges too.
Can you imagine if you had a doctor who mocked you for it? pic.twitter.com/T9bGRgtigH
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) August 31, 2022
Quite a few people were quick to point out that this was pretty rich coming from Fetterman, whose campaign strategy has effectively just been trolling Dr. Oz. Many in the media have actually praised Fetterman for being so social-media-savvy and snarky and clever. Just last night, MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle interviewed Fetterman and took a moment to highlight his campaign’s troll game.
And Fetterman, classy as he is, tried not only to downplay it, but to actually deny that his campaign has ever gone below the belt:
Later, Ruhle fawns over Fetterman's social media team, "One thing that you are winning in before we go is trolling. Hard-core trolling." pic.twitter.com/p6nTwLBqKG
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) September 1, 2022
We’ve only ever been kind, says Fetterman.
"always kind" … Wow! The self-delusion is strong with this one.
— JC32 (@Calvinism34) September 1, 2022
“The kind of campaign we’ve run is always— is very, it’s, it’s never nasty. You know, that’s, uh, Gisele’s always been very inspiring in that way, too. It’s always kind, and it’s, we, you know, we only traffic in truths.”
When Oz points out that Fetterman is avoiding debating him, is he not trafficking in truth? When Oz suggests that Fetterman’s stroke has left him physically and mentally impaired — which it quite clearly has — and perhaps unfit to serve in the U.S. Senate, is Oz not trafficking in truth?
Say what you will about Dr. Oz, but when he shines a light on Fetterman’s health issues and shortcomings, he’s merely being honest. Fetterman, by contrast, is not being honest with voters about his impairments.
Fetterman’s reaction here suggests he has absolutely no idea what’s going on his campaigns social media pages. https://t.co/TwEA7fGr0J
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) September 1, 2022
Either Fetterman is comfortable lying about his campaign’s activity, which would mean he’s not trafficking in truths, or he genuinely is not aware what his campaign has been up to, which suggests that he’s not fully mentally present. Voters should be concerned about both possibilities.
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