John Fetterman has not been well. That’s been obvious to anyone following the senate race currently going on in Pennsylvania. The Democrat may have tried to make himself look like a working-class man in a hoodie, but the truth is that Fetterman has been living off his parents’ support and has ignored his doctors. Fetterman has also suffered serious side effects of a massive stroke.
His much-heralded “return” to the campaign trail consisted of a speech that lasted about 10 minutes, and he just barely made it through it, with multiple disturbing and uncomfortable moments from a physical standpoint. His appearances since then have been rare and much shorter.
Does John Fetterman skip leg day? pic.twitter.com/WCyzD1DXxW
— Brick Suit (@Brick_Suit) August 22, 2022
Fetterman also declined to participate in any debates. And while Mehmet Oz, the GOP candidate, had been very careful not to talk about his opponent’s health issues for reasons I’ll never understand, that finally changed on Monday. The gloves came off, and the Republican’s campaign put out a statement directly suggesting that Fetterman is “too sick” to debate.
NEW #PASENOz campaign presses Fetterman in the debates of this morning
“If John is too sick to debate and is concerned he can not stand in front of cameras for more than 10 minutes, then he should just say so.” pic.twitter.com/o9jdTFtryI
— Dasha Burns (@DashaBurns) August 22, 2022
There’s just no question in my mind that Fetterman’s refusal to debate is health-related. If you go and watch the video linked above in my previous article on his return to the campaign trail, you’ll see a guy who legitimately looked as if he could not make it more than 15 minutes standing up. His mind certainly couldn’t last that long under any kind of serious mental load. Recently, Fetterman put out a 15-second video on Twitter promoting another silly “New Jersey” slam on Oz, and the Democrat couldn’t make it the whole way through his lines without a hard cut in the middle.
Fetterman is not going to debate because he can’t debate, and the longer this drags on, the more that’s going to become an issue for voters. It’s one of the reasons I’ve said not to panic and to ignore the ridiculous polls showing Fetterman winning by a bazillion points. They are likely to favour Oz in the final stretch of the race. Republicans shouldn’t give up and stop investing money in Pennsylvania. They should also project a confidence that this can be done.
Oz recently received positive news. New Trafalgar polls show that Oz is within striking distance. The polls that preceded him were almost entirely partisan.
New independent@trafalgar_group #PASen #Poll8/14-18 #FettermanUse the lead #papol:
48.4% @JohnFetterman
43.5% @DrOz
1.8% @Erik4Senate
1.7% Other
4.6% UndSee Report: https://t.co/jZ24Ij6ljj pic.twitter.com/ypQQRL8ReI
— Robert C. Cahaly (@RobertCahaly) August 21, 2022
No one wants to be down five points in any race at any point, but it’s still August, and history says that GOP senate candidates have a tendency to close the gap down the stretch. Oz can make the ground up he needs pretty easily if he keeps beating the ground the way he’s been doing. And as Fetterman’s debate cowardice puts the spotlight further on his health, that’s an issue Republicans need to lean into.
This is your time to get on the gas and push forward. Forget Mitch McConnell’s dooming and the smart set’s proclamations about candidate quality. This is the current situation, so don’t lose heart. Fetterman should fight to get every inch.